1781History
Archange Chevallier Ouilmette was born in approximately 1781 at Sugar Creek, Michigan.
1796Economy
In either 1796 or 1797 she married Antoine Ouilmette, a French-Canadian fur trader.
1808History
Together they would ultimately have eight children (sons Louis, Joseph, Michael and Francis; daughters Elizabeth, Archange, Josett and Sophia), the last being born in 1808.
1829History
On July 29, 1829, as a condition of the Second Treaty of Prairie du Chien, the U.S.
1838History
In 1838, the Ouilmette family moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where many Potawatomi had previously relocated.
1840History
Archange Chevallier Ouilmette died there on November 25, 1840, and Antoine Ouilmette died there on December 1, 1841.
1843Government
Joseph's is Wilmette's oldest religious congregation, established in 1843.
1845History
Polk approved the sale of the land, and in 1845 the entire reservation was collectively sold by the Ouilmette children, save for one sliver that Joseph Ouilmette sold individual...
1850Government
They developed a cohesive farming community and were active in the governance of New Trier Township (established in 1850), which built roads, schools and drainage ditches.
1855Architecture
The Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad tracks were built in 1855, facilitating the settlement of what would become the North Shore.
1871Government
In 1871 Central School, the community's first public school, was established in a one-room schoolhouse.
1872Government
The community was officially incorporated on September 19, 1872, as the Village of Wilmette, at Andrew Sherman's house on Greenleaf Avenue.
1873Education
In 1873, the church opened a school.
1874History
The first station burned, but the second one had been finished by 1874 and is still in existence today.
1875Civil Rights
In 1875 Wilmette's Protestant denominations partnered to construct the Union Evangelical Church at the northeast corner of Wilmette and Lake Avenues, an arrangement that would u...
1890Architecture
In 1890 Wilmette constructed its first village hall.
1891Government
Among these was the Wilmette Woman's Club, which was founded in 1891 as a reading club but quickly expanded to embrace a wide variety of philanthropic activities.
1892History
In 1892 the village began purchasing treated water from Evanston and had begun to set up telephone service.
1893Education
Logan school was opened in 1893 on Kline Street as a one-room school house.
1894Government
Referendums were held in 1894 and 1897 over whether Wilmette should seek to be annexed by neighboring Evanston.
1895Government
In 1895 the village established the Wilmette Public Works Department to provide maintenance to the village's infrastructure.
1897Education
In 1897 Gross Point opened up a small public school west of Ridge Road on Wilmette Avenue.
1899History
The Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee (North Shore Line) began service in Wilmette in 1899.
1900Architecture
=== 20th century ===
==== Early 20th century ====
Sheridan Road opened on October 8, 1900.
1901Education
New Trier High School, built in Winnetka but also drawing students from Wilmette, was opened in 1901.
1904History
Francis Xavier Church in 1904.
1905Architecture
In 1905, with the assistance of funds from Andrew Carnegie, the village was able to erect a new building for its library at the corner of Park and Wilmette Avenues.
1906Architecture
Another WPA project that was undertaken was the refurbishment of Wilmette pier, which is located just north of the mouth of Wilmette Harbor and had originally been built in 1906.
1907Architecture
In 1907, upon beginning construction of the North Shore Channel, Sanitary District of Chicago president Robert R.
1908Government
An election was held January 1908, with 174 votes in favor of creating a park district and 37 votes against it.
1909Architecture
The North Shore Channel project, completed in 1909, also resulted in the creation of Wilmette Harbor.
1910Government
Wilmette's first informal beach was established at the foot of Elmwood Avenue in 1910.
1911Government
State legislation was passed May 25, 1911, granting the Park District ownership of the landfill.
1912Infrastructure
In 1912 the Northwestern Elevated Railroad (today's Chicago Transit Authority Purple Line) extended its service into Wilmette.
1914Government
In 1914 the Wilmette Beach Improvement Association was founded to clean up the village's unsupervised shoreline.
1916Education
Mallinckrodt property was under contract to be sold by Loyola University Chicago to a developer that intended to raze the historic 1916 structure and build a tract of single fam...
1918History
By 1918 the village of Wilmette had increased its population to 5,000 from a population of only 1,500 twenty years earlier.
1919History
In 1919 the neighboring Village of Gross Point was dissolved due to bankruptcy.
1920Architecture
The oldest surviving Bahá'í House of Worship began construction in 1920 (it would not be completed until 1953).
1922History
While few of these specific plans ever materialized, the 1922 plan represents the beginning of zoning as a mode of shaping the village's development.
1924Architecture
Netstraeter in 1924, it was discovered that he bequeathed a large monetary sum of his estate for the construction of a new church.
1926History
Development of Wilmette's 'Indian Hill Estates' subdivision began in 1926.
1927Architecture
Teatro del Lago, an opulent movie house, opened in 1927.
1928Architecture
Trinity United Methodist Church (1928) is a Neo-Gothic structure and was designed and constructed by Granger & Bollenbacher of Wisconsin Lannonstone.
1929Architecture
Building began on such private clubs as the Miralago Ballroom, an early Art Deco building designed by George Fred Keck, which opened in 1929.
1931Government
==== Great Depression era ====
In 1931 Universal Oil Products co-founder Carbon Petroleum Dubbs was elected Village President.
1932Architecture
In 1932, despite the onslaught of a national depression, Dubbs was able to finish construction on Lochmoor, his Phillip Brooks Maher-designed lakefront mansion located along Wil...
1933History
In 1933 the village restricted the use of unofficial beaches, such as the one at the foot of Elmwood Avenue.
1934Architecture
On January 27, 1934, the village celebrated the opening of its own water plant that was completed largely due to Dubbs' commitment to the project.
1935History
By the end of Dubbs' tenure as Village President in 1935, Wilmette had become fiscally solvent.
1936Architecture
An additional WPA project broke ground in 1936, beginning construction on a lakefront amphitheater at Gilson Park.
1937Architecture
In 1937 the Sheridan Shore Yacht Club constructed a new clubhouse at Wilmette Harbor.
1938Architecture
The money was temporarily borrowed by Cardinal George Mundelein, but returned in 1938 and was used to construct the current, St.
1939Architecture
Joseph's church, which opened in 1939.
1941Military
After the Attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, village life revolved around the war effort: bond drives, air raid drills, scrap drives, and victory gardens were the order of...
1942Military
In 1942, after a long legal battle, Wilmette annexed No Man's Land.
1943History
On Sunday, May 23, 1943, a mock air raid on the village dropped hundreds of paper-bag "bombs" of brightly colored streamers, to test local readiness.
1949History
The opulent mansion was ultimately demolished in 1949 and 1950.
1950Economy
As a direct result of this housing boom, Wilmette's population grew from 18,162 in 1950 to 28,268 a decade later.
1951Architecture
Construction began on the Edens Expressway in the late 1940s, and it opened in 1951.
1953Architecture
In 1953 the village opened Roemer Park, a Little League baseball park with features such as a concession stand and scoreboard.
1955History
The North Shore Line ceased its service in Wilmette in 1955.
1956Architecture
Carson Pirie Scott opened Edens Plaza shopping center next to the new expressway in 1956.
1962Sports
By 1962 the Wilmette Baseball Association had more than 900 youth players (including Bill Murray) and 52 teams.
1967History
The Park District had begun buying the land for Centennial Park in 1967, but did not finish buying the last parcels until 1972.
1968Architecture
In 1968 the Curtis Curling Center, a state-of-the-art curling facility, opened in Wilmette.
1971Architecture
In 1971 the Park District proposed building a sports complex at this site.
1972Government
==== Village Centennial and National Bicentennial ====
The village marked the 1972 centenary of its incorporation with festivities on the lawn of Village Hall.
1973History
In 1973 Wilmette adopted a new comprehensive plan (which had been developed between the years 1967 and 1971).
1974History
In 1974 the village adopted a new zoning ordinance designed to adhere to the vision of the comprehensive plan.
1975Architecture
In 1975 Wilmette built a new structure to replace its 1874 railroad station.
1978History
Per their agreement, the Park District assumed control over the land after Loutsch's death in 1978.
1979History
The space was used for a televised Guinness world record-setting 135,000 piece domino show in 1979, but would otherwise sit vacant until being converted into a senior housing co...
1981Education
Francis until 1981; the Archdiocese of Chicago closed the school in 1986, but parish families reopened it a decade later.
1983History
Wilmette has a well-developed urban forest and since 1983 has enjoyed "Tree City" status.
1984Sports
They won the 1984 United States Men's Curling Championship and represented the United States at the 1985 men's World Curling Championships where they ultimately tied with Denmar...
1985Sports
The Wilmette Curling Club won the 1985 United States Men's Curling Championship.
1988Disaster
The handgun ban was enacted in direct response to an incident in 1988 when Laurie Dann opened fire on a classroom full of children in neighboring Winnetka; it was repealed in 20...
1991Architecture
In October 1991 construction began on a new structure for the Linden Station.
1993Architecture
The new Linden Station opened in 1993, with the former station being preserved as a retail space and a local historical landmark.
1994Education
In 1994 the board of Wilmette Public Schools District 39 voted to reopen Highcrest Middle School.
1995History
In 1995 Pace took over the operations for Wilmette's bus routes, bringing an end to the village's Wilbus service.
1996Culture
An athletic gymnasium was added to Community Recreation Center 1996 and an auditorium (funded in part by a $720,000 grant from the state) was added to the Community Recreation C...
2000Architecture
=== 21st century ===
November 7, 2000, residents voted in favor of spending up to $10 million in general obligation bonds to reconstruct the pools at Centennial Park.
2001History
Work on replacing the 30-year-old pools began on August 12, 2001.
2002Architecture
The pools were reopened ten months later on June 8, 2002.
2003Military
In May 2003 the Illinois Department of Natural Resources awarded the Park District a $2 million grant through the Open Land Trust program in order to preserve 5.22 acres of the ...
2004Architecture
In July 2004 a sales agreement was reached in which the Park District transferred ownership of the building to the Village of Wilmette.
2006History
As of 2006, village parkways hosted more than 18,600 trees comprising 150 species and sub-species.
2007Sports
In 2007 the structure was named as one of the "Seven Wonders of Illinois" by the Illinois Bureau of Tourism.
2010Culture
Each year since 2010, the village partners with Go Green Wilmette to present Going Green Matters: Wilmette's Green Fair, a sustainable living and recycling event that attracts ...
2013Architecture
In 2013 the Wilmette Platform Tennis Club was opened.
2019History
Joseph Parish in 2019 with much controversy.
2020History
== Demographics ==
As of the 2020 census, there were 28,170 people, 10,210 households, and 7,480 families residing in the village.
2025History
The current Village President, Senta Plunkett, began her second consecutive term in May 2025 and will be barred from serving beyond May 2029.