Montgomery

History

The first European settler arriving in the area was Jacob Carpenter, who came to the Chicago area from Logan County, Ohio, in November 1832. In the fall of 1835, Daniel S. Gray, from Montgomery County, New York, visited the area where his brother Nicholas Gray had located in the previous spring, on a farm now within the limits of Kendall County. He made immediate preparations to settle there, and in the fall of 1836, after his family moved from New York state, he built the first wooden house in the area. It was located in the southern part of what is now Montgomery, near the west bank of the Fox River. Daniel Gray is considered the founder of Montgomery, and bought land grants from the federal government, and had ownership of large tracts of land. The settlement was called "Graystown" for several years, but eventually Gray convinced other settlers to call the small village "Montgomery" after the New York county where he and several other settlers had origins. Daniel Gray founded many companies in Montgomery, including a tavern, store, warehouse, foundry, combine and fabrication shop, and one of the best stone grain mills in the county (Gray–Watkins Mill). Gray was making preparations for more business operations, including the establishment of a stationary engine factory, when he died in October 1855. Upon his death, he still owned the majority of the lots in the village. His heirs continued to sell these lots and the village continued to grow. On February 17, 1858, the village of Montgomery was incorporated. Ralph Gray, son of Daniel Gray, was elected as the first village president. The population of Montgomery remained fairly consistent at about 300 people during the rest of the 1800s. For much of the twentieth century, the village grew slowly and steadily. Lyon…

Geography

Montgomery is located in southern Kane County and northern Kendall County. It is bordered to the north and east by Aurora, to the south by Oswego and Boulder Hill, and to the southwest by Yorkville. The village sits on both sides of the Fox River. U.S. Route 30 passes through the village, leading southeast to Plainfield and northwest to Sugar Grove. Illinois Route 31 runs through the village on the west side of the Fox River, leading northeast to the center of Aurora and southwest to the center of Oswego. Illinois Route 25 runs along the east side of the Fox River, also leading to Aurora and Oswego. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Montgomery has a total area of , of which (or 97.41%) is land and (or 2.59%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  37,672
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  35,678
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  33,094
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  30,818
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  30,255
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  27,486
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  27,239
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,566

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-07-08
  21 km ENE of Kenilworth, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2025-03-15
  6 km W of Dwight, Illinois
• M 3.1 — 2024-07-15
  2 km WNW of Somonauk, Illinois
• M 3.6 — 2023-11-15
  1 km SSW of Standard, Illinois
• M 2.9 — 2015-03-25
  3 km WNW of Lake in the Hills, Illinois
• M 3.2 — 2013-11-04
  1 km SSW of Lyons, Illinois