Wilmette, IL

Wilmette is a small town located in Cook County, Illinois. The population of Wilmette was 34,898 as of the 2010 census. Wilmette is home to the world-renowned Art Institute of Chicago and is one of the wealthiest towns in Illinois.

Wilmette has a long history as a center for real estate and commerce. The first settlers arrived in 1835 and established a small trading post on what is now known as North Avenue. In 1847, George Pullman purchased land north of the trading post and began construction on his famous Pullman Palace Car Company factory. By 1870, Wilmette had become an important commercial center with several banks, stores, hotels, and factories located downtown.

The growth of the automobile industry led to rapid development in Wilmette during the 1920s and 1930s. Several large corporations built headquarters or major manufacturing facilities in Wilmette including General Motors Corporation (GM), Ford Motor Company (FMC), Chrysler Corporation (Chrysler), Studebaker Corporation (Studebaker), Sears Roebuck & Co., Montgomery Ward & Co., A&P Grocery Stores Inc., Allied Signal Corporation (Allied Signal), Motorola Incorporated (Motorola), Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Westinghouse Electric) and many others.

Today, Wilmette remains an important commercial center with several banks, stores, hotels, restaurants and businesses located downtown. The growth of technology has led to new businesses locating in downtown Wilmette including companies such as Google Inc., Apple Inc., Facebook Inc., LinkedIn Corp., Twitter Inc., Amazon Web Services LLC., Salesforce CRM LLC., Oracle Corp.(Oracle)and many others.