Oak Forest is a suburban city about 24 miles south/southwest of downtown Chicago in
Bremen Township in Cook County, Illinois.
Oak Forest has 28,050 residents and over 450 businesses and is considered part of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is mostly surrounded by Cook County Forest Preserves.
The Central Avenue Corridor offers residents many recreational opportunities.
You will find the George W. Dunne National Golf Course, well known as one of the best public
courses in the country.
Residents also enjoy other services such as the Acorn Public Library, Oak Forest City Hall, Oak Forest High School
and Oak Forest Central park District.
Oak Forest has a Health and Fitness Center and
19 parks located throughout the community. The forest preserves provide walking, biking and equestrian paths for
recreational use.
Oak Forest is a short ride using METRA to downtown Chicago.
You will also find easy access to interstate highways, providing easy access to both the excitement of the
city, or the relaxation of the country.
According to the Oak Forest city website the history of Oak Forest extends back to the 1800s. The area currently known as Oak Forest was originally called
Cooper's Grove. Mr. Cooper who settled here in the 1830s was said to have been the first president of Bremen
Township. A log cabin discovered by later settlers is believed to have been built by Cooper and was the first home
built in the township. The community was further established when settlers arrived to farm in the area, sometime in
the mid to late 1840s. The Cooper's Grove post office was renamed New Bremen in 1848; neighboring Tinley Park
was part of the community know as New Bremen until it was incorporated in 1982.
The earliest reference to the community as "Oak Forest" (probably so named for its proximity to nearby forest
preserves and mature oak trees throughout and surrounding the area) is in an 1893 Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific
Railway timetable. Oak Forest was incorporated as a village in 1947, and then incorporated as the City of Oak
Forest in 1971. It became a Home Rule Community in 1981.
Equal Housing Opportunity