Images of America: Woodstock

By Nancy Baker

Welcome to Woodstock, a picturesque Victorian town built around a town square. Originally called Centerville, Woodstock was selected as the county seat in 1843 because it was located almost exactly in the center of the reconsitituted McHenry County. (Lake County was split off.) Over the decades, Woodstock has welcomed those who came to conduct personal, legal, and civic business on the Square. They worked in Woodstock's typewriter, die casting, and other factories. They attended theatrical productions at the opera house and band concerts in the park. Woodstock residents, and those from surrounding towns, gathered at the train station to see McHenry County's service men and women off to war, to welcome them home and to celebrate their safe return, and to mourn their loss. The city also remains a cultural beacon, counting among its residents actor/director Orson Welles and celebrated cartoonist Chester Gould. COST: $22, plus shipping.