What do you know about Woodstock, Illinois? If you’re not from the surrounding area, I’d imagine you might have heard of it as the location where one of the greatest comedies of all time was filmed: Groundhog Day. That’s how most people know the town, anyway.
(If this is the point where you go, “What’s Groundhog Day,” you should read this post, share it with everyone you know and love, and immediately go rent the movie. It has nothing to do with this post, really. It’s just that good.)
The only other reason I ever knew about Woodstock is because I had a classmate at university who was from there. Saving his stories of debauchery and overall irresponsibility for another day, that’s about all I’ve got.
And with those two things being all we knew, a family member said it was cute and we should go check it out. If you know anything about us, you know that statement was good enough for us. Off we went!
Woodstock is a small town of about 25,000, located about 60 miles northwest of Chicago. While it’s a small town, it finds itself as the seat of McHenry County. This saddles the city with good things (it’s therefore a commercial center for the area and well-kept) and bad things (it has its share of homelessness and other social ills). While it has its ups and downs, it is also quite proud – especially when it comes to the downtown area.
The town center of Woodstock is a pristine square of brick streets, inlaid and decorative corners, and hosts several historic buildings. If you’ve seen Groundhog Day, you’ll recognize some of them. These traits and more led it to be named by the National Trust of Historic Preservation as one of America’s Dozen Distinctive Cities in 2007.
Just look at the old opera house, dutifully preserved as any historic center should be.
As we slowly strolled around the square, we noticed that most structures here are not only in great condition, but house many independent businesses. You’ll find bookstores, knickknack shops, clothing boutiques, and restaurants, such as a crêperie and this brewpub, aptly titled the Public House.
While we don’t know what “Church Block” means, this building caught our eye the most. Especially with its miniature clock tower on the corner. I believe an art gallery was preparing to open up shop on the ground level.
We also dug this sign for Schroeder & Young Barber Shop, just off the square. Too bad I didn’t need a cut!
Of course, with the good comes the bad, as previously mentioned. This old watch repair and sales shop is now closed, but at least the current residents of the establishment had the good sense to keep the amazing vintage sign.
The historic Woodstock Theatre also sits just off the square. While it shows new movies and appears to be expanding, it’s thankfully kept its old look.
You might also recognize this, if you’re into great comedies like I am. The old county courthouse caught some scenes in Planes, Trains & Automobiles. More importantly, it was the courthouse that held Eugene V. Debs, and where it is said he formed and learned his political views that would take him through quite a(nother) whirlwind in life.
It’s now an arts center, as you can see in the above photo. It also has interesting inlays showing its elevation above both Lake Michigan and sea level. I found this particularly strange, as it’s nowhere near water or anything that could be remotely considered a medium-size hill.
As we went along, we then came across the Swiss Maid Bakery.
This had been specifically mentioned to us, so we knew we had to pop in and see what all the fuss is about. Also, we love baked goods. And sugar.
We didn’t get into the finer details of the business, but we did get to spend some time talking to the girls who (wo)man the joint. Meet Ashley and Mary, your Woodstock dough slingers.
They and their associates come in at 3 or 4 every morning to start the day’s work. And from what we could tell, they had a lot of work and sell a lot of goodies. Along with some helpful clientele, they aided us in picking out some delicious treats to take away with us. We didn’t get our hands on any of the variety of loaves they still had left from the day’s sales…
…but we did order up a stack of this gloriousness.
After shooting the dirt and joking around with the lovely ladies of Swiss Maid for quite some time, we headed back outside before we ended up buying the whole store or threatening to take Mary and Ashley home for dinner.
Walking down the block and checking out more of the shops, we ran through the square’s park (also pictured at the top of this post). It’s quite nice, and was the setting for the Groundhog Day scenes in the movie. Despite the cold spring, flowers had started to bloom and it was a sunny day, making it all more understandable why people are charmed to move here or stay here.
Because we’re often drawn – er, always drawn – to all things food-related, our keen eyes picked out a very tiny shop just off the square called Ethereal Confections. This shop in question is a chocolatier. Because of course it is.
That salty, peanut butter and chocolate creation barely made it into that photo before I snatched it away and downed it in a couple seconds flat.
Meet Caroline…
She had the unfortunate luck of being at the counter when we came in, which means we got to pester her for quite some time about the company and the chocolate game. She was a gracious host, answering our questions about the business and its history.
While it’s packed into a tiny space, the folks at Ethereal crank out chocolate confections for people all across the world. You can buy their goods in the store, online, or from several retailers across the USA.
It might be difficult to keep a retail shop at its full potential these days – especially in a small town – but the sky’s the limit when you expand your horizons. And the owners of Ethereal know this. We didn’t get to meet them, but they were gracious enough to let us take pictures in their store and grill Caroline about the biz.
They also clearly know their priorities.
Besides being an independent business based in small-town America, the folks here are also taking it a step further: Pretty much everything we saw in the store and on the website was dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan. And while we are none of those things, it certainly doesn’t take away from the melt-in-your-mouth fantasticalness of their goods. I promise you this.
Walking away from visits with the fine folks at Ethereal Confections and Swiss Maid Bakery, it felt great knowing that there is both hometown support for local businesses, and far-flung clientele who can also appreciate these local flavors. Everyone here seems very proud of what they’re doing, and proud to be part of the Fabric of America.
Nothing is perfect, even in such a cute and thriving small town. However, everything has potential, and those who work hard and have vision can indeed succeed. Coming away from our short visit to Woodstock, that is more apparent than ever.
If you find yourself wanting to check out Woodstock on your own, the best thing to do is just show up. Otherwise, you can head on over to the website for the city of Woodstock, and find all sorts of info about businesses, local tourism, and more.
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Have you ever been to Woodstock? Did you know it from the movie? Any thoughts about our post? Make yourself heard in the comments!
Makes me want to visit!
It’s quite nice for a day, if you happen to be rambling along the back roads in the area. Thanks for stopping by!
You did a fine job of celebrating that lovely town square. There is also one of the few independent book stores left and the Opera House that has its own unique charm, and so much more. The arts are highly regarded and promoted by the generosity of Woodstockians (a word?). The churches there and in the surrounding area provide meals and housing for the homeless you mentioned. It’s quite a community!
We did see the bookstore, but I failed to get a picture of it. One thing that annoyed me a bit was that the only coffee cafe in the square was a Starbucks. The good news is – as I saw on the Ethereal Facebook page yesterday – they’re opening their own cafe in July. Woohoo! You can see more about it at https://www.facebook.com/EtherealConfections. Thanks for coming by!
We used to pass through Woodstock on the way to Grandmother’s house (bahaha). Downtown Dekalb, downtown Glen Ellyn and even downtown Wheaton, where I’m from, have retained their small-town charm, much like Woodstock. Far cry from downtown Seville! Sharing with a sorority sister from Woodstock…
The horses and sleigh and all that? Nice. It’s great to see smaller towns that are nice and lively. One thing that drives me nuts is that most roads – not just interstates – seem to pass right by downtowns. That’s great for keeping downtown areas local, but sometimes you drive by a town and don’t even realize there’s a separate downtown because the large road or state road or whatever bypasses it and there are no signs. It was that way in Woodstock as well as some other towns we’ve come across, and it’s a shame because it doesn’t drive business (or folks passing through) into the central part of town. Thanks for stopping by, Cat!
Groundhog Day Town! One of my fav movies, seriously. And vegan sweets and treats? And old fashioned signs? I’ll be right there…
Indeed, I love that movie. Haha yeah, you’d certainly enjoy Ethereal. You can check them out on Facebook here -> https://www.facebook.com/EtherealConfections. Thanks for the comments!
I was born and raised in Woodstock as were both of my kids. I always loved this little town although it has changed a lot over the years. Back in the day the town square was the only town there was and most everybody knew everybody else. It was a great place to grow up.
It’s nice to hear a little bit of history from a native! We quite enjoyed visiting and talking with people in town; it’s quite a cute place. Thanks for reading, Penny!
I would love to share on Facebook, did I miss how to do it??
You can just click the Facebook “Like” button on the left and it should give you the option of sharing it on Facebook. Otherwise, you can copy the URL and paste it into your Facebook timeline. You can also join us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/jetsliketaxis. Thanks for reading!
I came across your post today – I live near Woodstock, in the next town over – and it’s making the rounds among my local friends! You did a great job of showing a lot of what we love about our little town. Thanks!
Thanks, Carrie! We tend to be pretty curious, so we just started walking around and ended up meeting some great folks and learning more about what makes Woodstock tick. We appreciate you stopping by, and thanks for sharing.
I have lived my whole life in Woodstock and thank you for the great info. about my hometown. Come visit the square on a Wed. evening in the summer and enjoy the city band. People bring out picnics and lawn chairs and enjoy. Usually their is an ice cream social as well.
We had a good time there and certainly could have stayed longer. We’re no longer in the area, but we’ll have to come by again next time. Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts!
I was born and raised in good old Woodstock, IL, and I really enjoyed your article about my hometown. Although I haven’t lived there for over 30 years, I still visit and also keep up with news by subscribing to the Woodstock Independent newspaper. The population has more than doubled since I moved away, so it’s not so much a small town anymore.
We’re happy you enjoyed it and that you’re proud of your hometown. It’s still pretty small, but definitely growing. The good thing is that the center seems to be quite revitalized and that small businesses seem to be doing well. Thanks for stopping by!
I loved reading this! I am from Woodstock and I was actually away in the Marine Corps when they shot the film Groundhog Day! The interior shots were done inside the Moose Lodge and I had family sending me cool pictures of the stars they got to meet (Andie McDowell holding my cousin’s baby was nice to see). The opera house had famous people there like Orson Welles and Paul Newman. Thanks for provoking the memories!
Ah, great info. Too bad you couldn’t be there for filming – that’s one of my favorite movies of all time. I’m really happy that the town is much more than a place where a movie was filmed; we had a great time there. Thanks for stopping by, Bob!
So happy you enjoyed Woodstock! Over 36 years ago my husband and I drove around Woodstock’s cobbled stone Square and decided that we wanted to raise our daughter in this charming town. Best decision we ever made. Woodstock is wonderful to visit and even better to live in! Thanks for your wonderful article. Sweet travels!
Oh, that’s fantastic. Any thoughts on how it’s changed over the last 36 years? Thanks for stopping by!
We had been living in TX for 6 years when husband got a job offer in Woodstock. It was January and the snow was deep when we went to check it out. I felt like I was experiencing Camelot where they had REAL seasons (not too hot, not too cold). The sight that tipped the scale for me was see lots of children sledding down the hills while driving through their beautiful city park. It would have made the perfect Norman Rockwell painting! We ended up living in Woodstock from 1984-1993. In some ways I wish we could have stayed there, except for the fact that it was 9 hours away from family. Great place to raise kids!
I was going to ask you when there were “real” seasons in the area, but then I read the end where you moved in 1993. We’re originally from Chicago, and look fondly upon the old days when there were actually four seasons in the region. Now it’s just summer and winter. :(
It’s interesting to hear about your experience in the 80s/90s, as we were wondering when the downtown area was (re)vitalized, or if it had always been pretty put-together. Thanks for sharing!
You missed everything that I really think was good about Woodstock, by a few years! Growing up in the 60’s in Woodstock was really something! The old “Roberta’s” hamburger joint, the A&W, the Dog N Suds, the old Pool Hall off the square, just to name a few. Oh, and Coachlight Pizza, ohhhhhhhh, those were the days.
Hey Terry! I guess I can’t do anything about not being there in the 60s haha. Sounds like it was a good time to be around those parts though. Thanks for stopping by!
What street was coachlight on? I remember it being the old railroad tunnel bridge but can’t remember the street name
I honestly don’t know. :\