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is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located north of Chicago's downtown district (or from Chicago's northern border) and has a population of 27,651. Wilmette is considered a bedroom community in the affluent North Shore district. In 2007, Wilmette was ranked as the seventh best place to raise children in the U.S., according to Business Week.
Before European settlement, a Potawatomi village was located on "Indian Hill", currently the site of a golf course in nearby Winnetka.
The village is named in honor of Antoine Ouilmette, a French-Canadian fur trader married to Archange, the daughter of Potawatomi chief Sauganash.
For his part in persuading local Native Americans to sign the Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1829, the U.S. government awarded Ouilmette 1,280 acres (5.2 km²) of land in present-day Wilmette and Evanston. In 1848, he sold the land to farmers and developers and it eventually evolved into modern-day Wilmette.
John G. Westerfield built pickle and vinegar factories in the area in 1857. Other early commercial development included a cooperage, a brick kiln, and an icehouse.
The Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad tracks were built in 1854, but the first local station wasn't constructed until 1869. The Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee (North Shore Line) arrived in 1899 and connected with a Milwaukee Road line into Chicago. The North Shore Line through Wilmette was abandoned in 1955, the line into Chicago is now the CTA's Purple Line.
German Catholic farmers from the area of Trier began settling the area in the 1840s. They named their village Gross Point, which was located west of Ridge Road. The Village of Wilmette was incorporated on September 19, 1872 and the Village of Gross Point was incorporated on September 19, 1874.
September 19 is celebrated locally as Charter Day.
Wilmette was nearly annexed by its neighbour to the south, Evanston, in 1894 and 1897. Proponents wanted to take advantage of Evanston's then-superior fire, police, and waterworks. One annexation referendum lost by a vote of 168 to 165; three others also failed.
Gross Point's municipal revenues were dependent on the 15 taverns in town. With prohibition these revenues disappeared and the village went bankrupt. It was annexed in two parts by the Village of Wilmette in 1924 and 1926.
The oldest surviving Bahá'í House of Worship was constructed here between 1920 and 1953.