Homes for sale in
Oak Lawn.

The area that became Oak Lawn was first settled around land purchased by James B. Campbell in August 1835, stretching between Cicero and Central Avenues from 95th to 103rd Street. The community was originally known as Black Oak Grove, the name of an early road built along what is now 95th Street, and by 1882 the post office, train depot, and surrounding community had become known simply as Oak Lawn. The railroad and depot drew early growth, with residents traveling by train to Englewood to shop while selling farm and dairy products to Chicago markets. Oak Lawn was incorporated as a village in 1909, after which it added a village hall, a police magistrate, electric lights on 95th Street by 1911, and a volunteer fire department in 1923.

After World War II, returning veterans using the G.I. Bill drove a major population boom, and by 1960 the village had nearly 20,000 residents. On April 21, 1967, an F4 tornado tore through Oak Lawn, one of the worst to strike an urban area, damaging or destroying roughly 900 buildings and killing more than 30 people. The storm's epicenter was near 95th Street and Southwest Highway and it cut Oak Lawn Community High School in half. The village rebuilt and its population peaked around 63,500 in the mid-1970s. Beginning in 2002, downtown Oak Lawn along 95th Street underwent a major redevelopment program, replacing several blocks with multistory condominium and retail buildings and an expanded Metra station. The village is also anchored by Advocate Christ Medical Center, founded in 1961 as Christ Community Hospital and now a Level I trauma center.