Oak Brook

History

Oak Brook was originally known as Fullersburg, named after Ben Fuller, an early settler. Oak Brook was incorporated as a village in 1958, due in large part to the efforts of Paul Butler, a prominent civic leader and landowner whose father had first moved to the vicinity in 1898 and opened a dairy farm shortly thereafter. Prior to incorporation, the name Oak Brook was used by local residents to distinguish their community from neighboring Hinsdale and Elmhurst, going back to the founding of the Oak Brook Civic Association almost two decades earlier. The original boundaries were smaller than the present extent of the village, but a considerable amount of land was annexed soon after the founding of the village, including the land that is now the site of the Oakbrook Center shopping mall, which opened in 1962. In 1964 Butler entered a joint venture with the Del E. Webb Corporation of Phoenix, Arizona, to increase development of the area. Webb's construction company constructed dozens of buildings in Oak Brook both commercial and residential. The Webb Corporation's involvement in the development of the village lasted into the late 1970s. Paul Butler's interest in sport was reflected in the Oak Brook Sports Core, which features polo fields, a golf course (which was at one time the venue for the Western Open), swimming and tennis facilities, and other recreational facilities not commonly found in a village of this size.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Oak Brook has a total area of , of which (or 96.11%) is land and (or 3.89%) is water. Oak Brook is located about west of the Chicago Loop (downtown Chicago). Most of Oak Brook consists of residential subdivisions, with the exception of the Oakbrook Center shopping mall and other retail and office properties along 22nd Street and the Interstate 88 corridor in the northern part of the village.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  96,185
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  86,513
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  66,046
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  64,137
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  63,450
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  61,773
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  61,126
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  60,184

Largest nearby schools

• York Comm High School
  High · Elmhurst · 2,707 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• Comm H S Dist 99 - South High Sch
  High · Downers Grove · 2,637 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• Hinsdale Central High School
  High · Hinsdale · 2,472 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Glenbard West High School
  High · Glen Ellyn · 2,324 students · 17.7:1 ratio
• Glenbard East High School
  High · Lombard · 2,275 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Comm H S Dist 99 - North H S
  High · Downers Grove · 2,138 students · 14:1 ratio
• Willowbrook High School
  High · Villa Park · 1,992 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Addison Trail High School
  High · Addison · 1,927 students · 16.1:1 ratio

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 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
• M 2.6 — 2013-06-10
  4 km NNE of Virgil, Illinois