Photo: Bnperdue2010 · CC BY-SA 4.0

History · Woodridge

Woodridge dates to 1959

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #760 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Woodridge was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1960.

1959founded

0on the National Register

0.8%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

1famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Woodridge’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Woodridge began

When was Woodridge founded?

1959

Woodridge dates its founding to 1959 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 542 in 19602020 census: 34,15867 years

How historic is Woodridge?

D⁻

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikipedia.

History grade

What drives Woodridge’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Woodridge is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #760 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Woodridge’s overall grade.

Founding era1959, from Wikipedia: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD⁻Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±0.7) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%D National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 2%

NewerOlder

Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)#760 of 768

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Woodridge’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1959.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Woodridge’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Woodridge’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Woodridge’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2 Retake an old viewUS-IL-Chicagoland-Woodridge: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

The story so far

Woodridge, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Woodridge yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Woodridge is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, with small portions in Will and Cook counties, and a southwestern suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 34,158. The village is just north of the I-55 junction with IL-53. Woodridge was incorporated on August 24, 1959, with less than 500 residents. It is named for its location in a wooded area above a steep hillside, locally known as "The Ridge," which overlooks the DuPage River's East Branch and the Des Plaines Valley. Woodridge is a young community with the vast majority of its homes, businesses, and churches constructed after the 1950s. Woodridge was founded by a housing developer, Albert Kaufman, who was largely resp…

Woodridge was established in 1959. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 32,971 to 34,158 (+4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Woodridge, 1954 to 1995

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

20th century
1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1959
FoundingWoodridge is established
1995Born hereNick Solak is born here

By decade

Woodridge, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date

Date?US-IL-Chicagoland-Woodridge

Today5 recent

2023At Home (Woodridge, Illinois) 1

2021Main-St-Woodridge-IL

2020Target (Woodridge, Illinois) 1

2012BS after 2

2006Kyle House IL

On the map

Woodridge on the map, 1954 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Woodridge. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1954Romeoville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Woodridge.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewUS-IL-Chicagoland-Woodridge

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Woodridge’s page.

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Woodridge, census by census

Grew from 542 people in 1960 to 34,158 in 2020, more than tenfold.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Woodridge’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Stonegate

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Bolingbrook1 historic placeD Darien1 historic placeD Downers Grove1 historic placeB⁺Lemont3 historic placesA⁻Romeoville1 historic placeC⁻LisleIts storyC⁺Downers Grove Township11 historic placesA⁻Lemont Township4 historic placesA⁻

Questions about Woodridge’s history

What year was Woodridge founded?

In 1959, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1960 counted 542 people here.

How does Woodridge rank for history?

Woodridge is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #760 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Woodridge?

0.8% of Woodridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1982.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

Post to Woodridge

Check your email