Excerpt
The City of Woodstock, situated amidst the green rolling hills of northern Illinois, is a community that honors its past. The city's picturesque, brick-paved town square features an old county courthouse and ornate opera house dating from 1890.
The square is surrounded by local shops, leaving the town square looking much as it did decades ago. Mayor Alan Cornue, 64, who has lived in Woodstock (pop. 22,000) for 36 years and was born in the next town, is proud of his home. He calls it “a place of good character.”
The mid-American charm of Woodstock gave the town square a supporting role in “Groundhog Day,” a movie starring Bill Murray. Many townspeople turned out to watch the filming, recalls Cornue. This year, the city celebrates its 150th birthday.
But like communities across the country, Woodstock has had to face the challenges of modern times. The State of Illinois has lost 3.6 million acres of farmland since 1950, an average of almost 77,000 acres each year, according to the state Agriculture Department. Urbanization and development run rampant in Illinois, and, for better or worse, Woodstock is not immune to the …
Footnotes
Brian Lavendel is a freelance writer based out of Madison, Wisconsin.
- Copyright 2002 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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