Oglesby is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,712 at the 2020 census, down from 3,791 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ottawa Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Oglesby was a center for mining coal, limestone, and silica, located near the confluence of the Illinois River and the north-flowing Vermilion River. Oglesby grew from an amalgamation of several mining villages, such as Kenosha, Portland, and Black Hollow. It was originally called Portland, due to the cement mined and manufactured in the area that was similar to Portland Cement from England. It was renamed in 1913 after the coal company and in honor of Richard J. Oglesby (1824–1899), a former U.S. Senator and three-time Governor of Illinois.
During the Civil War, the Kenosha Coal Company sank a coal mining shaft at Oglesby in 1865. Thatcher Tucker Bent purchased the mine and mineral rights as the Oglesby Coal Company. The mine was innovative and the Bents were very involved in the development of the community. Mrs. Josephine Bent even organized English classes for the immigrant miners' wives. The Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company mined limestone and claimed that the Bent's mine was causing collapses. The conflict eventually liquidated the Oglesby Coal Company, with the Bent selling the machinery to Marquette and auctioning off the farm animals. The Black Hollow Mine was dug in the 1890s as a slope mine along the Vermilion River. It provided coal to its owners, the Illinois Zinc Company in Peru, Illinois.
The surface ground layers around Oglesby had excellent exposed limestone and coal; Oglesby also had adequate riverine transport. It soon became an important center for cement manufacture. Before open-pit mining, there were several subsurface cement mines:
- Illinois Clay Products Mine, 1913–1924
- Reynolds Clay Mine
- Marquette Cement Mine
As well as several coal mines:
- Jones Mine, 1865–1930
- Oglesby Mine, 1865–1919
- Deer Park Mine, 1900–1920
- Black Hollow Mine, circa 1890s
thumb|Copper glacial boulder found in a [[Pleistocene glacial deposit at Oglesby, Illinois. The glaciers moved this rock about 450 miles from its probable source, Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. On display at the Field Museum of Natural History.]]
State parks
Matthiessen State Park and Starved Rock State Park are located a few miles east on Illinois State Route 178. With over two million visitors a year, Starved Rock is the most visited of any Illinois state park.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Oglesby has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Oglesby had a population of 3,712. The population density was . 94.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 6.0% lived in rural areas.
The median age was 41.4 years. 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.7 males age 18 and over. A successful petition drive to remove the blinds began soon after.
Transportation
While there is no fixed-route transit service in Oglesby, intercity bus service is provided by Burlington Trailways in nearby Peru.
Notable people
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- Jim Bottomley, first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Browns
- Frank Lamanske, pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers
- Bo Molenda, fullback (and later coach) for the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants; born in Oglesby
- Walt Tauscher, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Senators