Map of Bellwood village, Illinois

Bellwood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located 13 miles (21 km) west of Chicago’s downtown Loop, the Village of Bellwood is bounded by the Eisenhower Expressway (south), the Proviso yards of the former Chicago & Northwestern, now Union Pacific Railroad (north), and the suburbs of Maywood (east) and Hillside and Berkeley (west). The population was 18,789 at the 2020 census.

Bellwood village overview:
Name:	Bellwood village
LSAD Code:	47
LSAD Description:	village (suffix)
State:	Illinois
County:	Cook County
Incorporated:	1900
Total Area:	2.40 sq mi (6.21 km²)
Land Area:	2.40 sq mi (6.21 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²)
Total Population:	18,789
Population Density:	7,835.28/sq mi (3,025.05/km²)
FIPS code:	1704975
Website:	www.vil.bellwood.il.us

Online Interactive Map

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Bellwood online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Bellwood location map. Where is Bellwood village?

Bellwood location on the U.S. Map. Where is Bellwood village. — Bellwood location on the U.S. Map.

Bellwood location on the Illinois map. Where is Bellwood village. — Location of Bellwood in Illinois.

History

Bellwood was incorporated on May 21, 1900. The municipality took its name from one of the village’s early subdivisions, “Bellewood“. However, in later years, the final “e” was dropped. The region, which was mostly flat grassland, was initially mostly farmland. A few businesses, including a few taverns, were drawn to the initial subdivision. In reaction to dry Maywood‘s effort to annex the area, businesses that served alcohol petitioned for incorporation. Between 1900 and 1930, Bellwood’s population numbers increased steadily. By 1920, the village’s population of 943 had more than quadrupled, with many German and Russian immigrants. The increase to 4,991 persons in 1930 is due to the annexation of territory west of Mannheim Road in 1926, as well as ongoing migration.

The Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Railway and the Chicago & North Western Railway provided rail passenger service, which promoted residential growth in neighboring portions of Bellwood. The 1970s saw racial upheaval and inclusion in a Supreme Court case in the United States. Bellwood sued a local real estate company in 1975, alleging racial discrimination. Four years later, the Supreme Court issued a historic decision allowing governments to utilize testers and sue when discrimination occurs. The black population of Bellwood jumped from 1.1 percent in 1970 to 35 percent in 1980 and 70 percent in 1990.

A few major firms exist in Bellwood today, but the collapse of many other large sectors has resulted in a decrease in employment and tax revenue. Despite these contributions, the community saw some new development as a result of various minor industrial and commercial organizations.