[4] The land Oregon, Illinois was founded on was previously held by the Potawatomi and Winnebago Indian tribes.

In fact, later, settlers discovered that the area contained a large number of Indian mounds, most 10–12 feet (3.0–3.7 m) in diameter.

They were part of a wave of New England farmers who headed west into what was then the wilds of the Northwest Territory during the early 1800s.

When they arrived in what is now Bureau County there to forest and prairie ecosystems, the New Englanders laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings and established post routes.

They brought with them many of their Yankee New England values, such as a passion for education, establishing many schools as well as staunch support for abolitionism.

Phelps, the land was claimed, subdivided and certified by the Ogle County clerk as Oregon City.

[5] The population continued to grow through the 1850s and 1860s, a fact demonstrated by the increasing number of churches in those decades and the building of a railroad in 1871.

Between 1908 and 1911, on a site just north of the city, sculptor Lorado Taft erected a 50-foot tall statue he had designed and originally named The Eternal Indian.

Of families with a female householder with related children under 18 years and no husband present, 34.4% lived below the poverty line.

As of Feb. 2021, renovations are planned for the historic building known as the Oregon Coliseum, which will create a new museum and cultural center.

[13] The community hosts several major events a year, including the annual Autumn On Parade[14] Candlelight Walk[15] ShamROCK The Town[16] and more In 1898, sculptor Lorado Taft founded the Eagle's Nest Art Colony on a bluff overlooking the Rock River, north of Oregon.

In 1904, Taft created The Blind and then began focusing on more monumental works including The Eternal Indian located just north of Oregon in Illinois' Lowden State Park.