The municipality grew up around the prestigious Olympia Fields Country Club, originally established in 1915.

Olympia Fields is noteworthy as one of the wealthiest and best educated, majority African-American communities in the United States.

[3] The village's zip code (60461) is one of three majority African American communities which rank among the top five percent in the U.S. for median household income and share of adults with college degrees,[4] and Olympia Fields also has the highest black homeownership rate in the country among majority-black municipalities.

The Illinois Central Railroad began serving the area in the 1850s, which fostered population and economic growth during that era.

In 1893, the Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago, and southern Cook County became an increasingly popular retreat for busy Chicagoans.

By 1913, the area's lush woodlands and rolling terrain convinced a group of investors led by Charles Beach to establish a golf course catering to Chicago's wealthy elite.

Amos Alonzo Stagg, the famed football coach of the University of Chicago, became the Club's first president.

In the early 20th century, golf and the resort atmosphere in the area south of Chicago became so popular that some families lived in canvas-covered "cottages" during the summer months, while others built more permanent homes on the western side of the railroad tracks beginning as early as 1919.

His home, built to reflect the design and character of the Country Club, still stands at the southwest corner of Kedzie Avenue and 203rd Street.

Today, the grounds of the Country Club remain unincorporated, outside the jurisdiction of the Olympia Fields village government.

The Village of Olympia Fields is located between Vollmer Road and US Route 30 (Lincoln Highway), two miles east of Interstate 57.

Pace provides bus service on Route 357 connecting Olympia Fields to destinations across the Southland.