How Did Oak Brook Get Started?

How Did Oak Brook Get Started?

Last updated: October 2026

Oak Brook incorporated on February 21, 1958. It had one square mile and 103 residents.

It's hard to picture today. Oak Brook is now known for corporate headquarters, a major shopping center, and large homes on wide lots. But less than seventy years ago, it was a tiny village with fewer residents than a single Chicago apartment building. If you're moving to Oak Brook, a little history helps explain why the village looks the way it does.

The Butler family and polo

Much of the land belonged to Paul Butler. His family company owned about 3,600 acres. Butler made polo the area's early identity. Polo, in a Chicago suburb. It's one of the more unusual starting points for any village in the region, and it gave Oak Brook a character that set it apart from the farm towns and railroad suburbs around it.

Oakbrook Center

Oakbrook Center opened in 1962, just four years after the village incorporated. Four years.

The Sports Core

In 1977, the village bought the 270-acre Sports Core from Butler. That purchase turned a private holding into village land, only nineteen years after the village itself was formed.

Oak Brook today

Today, Oak Brook is a mix of homes and offices. Large family homes sit on generous lots. Gated communities have their own rules. And office buildings bring corporate moves of every size. We move both homes and offices across the village. That mix of large homes and corporate offices is a direct result of how the village grew, from polo fields and open land into a village of homes and headquarters.

Moving into an Oak Brook home

Gated communities. Many Oak Brook neighborhoods are gated. Gated communities just need arranged access, which we handle with your association or gatehouse ahead of time.

Large homes. Big homes often take a big crew and sometimes more than one day. Read how much does it cost to move a house in Chicago.

Long drives. Wide lots can mean long carries from the truck to the door. Tell us about the driveway when you call.

Moving an Oak Brook office

Oak Brook is home to a lot of corporate offices. Office moves usually need certificates of insurance for both buildings. We provide COIs for both ends of the move, filed with property management before move day. Read do you provide COIs for commercial buildings.

Many offices want to close on Friday and open on Monday. Read can you move our office over a weekend.

Moving for work

Oak Brook's corporate presence brings a lot of moves for work. Corporate-sponsored household moves, local or interstate, are a steady part of our Oak Brook work. Read do you move Oak Brook executives who are moving for work.

For a real Oak Brook move, read the Jacob Aguilar story.

Oak Brook moves are covered on our Oak Brook movers page, alongside our moving services.

Call (773) 275-4100 or email info@wcmoving.com, and mention Oak Brook.