Elmwood Park

Elmwood Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 24,883 at the 2010 census. The community has long maintained a large Italian-American population, with a more recent influx of Polish-American and Hispanic residents.GeographyAccording to the 2010 census, Elmwood Park has a total area of 1.91sqmi, all land. Current population is around 24,380.HistoryElmwood Park was incorporated as a village in early April 1914 in order to prevent being annexed by the greater city of Chicago. Today one can still see evidence of a minority of landowners, or share farmers who voted for annexation to the City by the odd chunk taken out of Elmwood Park's northeast corner which kept the community from achieving a full square rectangle border.At the turn of the Century urban dwellers would take the train Westward out of the cement city for family picnics at the "Elm-Wood-Park" which was an ancient "Grove of majestic 180 year old Elms" found near 72nd Av/Harlem & Irving Park road. Taking advantage of the parks provenance, a new cemetery was named Elmwood, while the closest train stop to both Cemetery & Park in unincorporated Marwood/Ellsworth became identified with the official name of "Elmwood Park". During the pressure era of incorporation a decade later, our Village's founding representatives thought it most ideal to legally title the community after the stop, and after the namesake Elm which is a native locally evolved riparian Prairie "Bottomland" tree species.