Welcome to Ottawa ...
The city of Ottawa is located in La Salle County<1> and is the County Seat for La Salle County.
The pronunciation of Ottawa: AHT-uh-wuh<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Ottawa, you might consider that their post office opened in 1832.
When the people of Ottawa refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Ottawan<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Ottawa has a population of 18,139 people<4> (see below for details).
Ottawa is 480 feet [146 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Ottawa lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area codes for Ottawa: (815) & (779)<6>
The ZIP code for Ottawa: 61350<7>
Websites for Ottawa ...
Official Website: www.cityofottawa.org/
Chamber of Commerce: www.ottawa.il.us/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Ottawa had an population of 18,139 people. This is a decrease of 3.35% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 0.92% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Ottawa had a population of 18,768 people (which is 16.47% of the total population of La Salle County). This makes Ottawa the county's most populous community.
The population of Ottawa represents 0.15% of the population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 132nd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 18,768 people, the population of Ottawa increased 2.52% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 18,307 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Ottawa.
Communities Also Named Ottawa ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 17 communities that are also named Ottawa - they are located in Iowa (2), Kansas (2), Kentucky, Michigan (2), Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario (3), Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ottawa.
Communities near Ottawa ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Ottawa.
- Streator
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Streator
- Streator is located in La Salle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,933 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Streator <8>
- Peru
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
- Peru is located in La Salle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,612 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peru <8>
- La Salle
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Salle have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Salle
- La Salle is located in La Salle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,897 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Salle <8>
- Mendota
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mendota have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendota
- Mendota is located in La Salle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,904 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mendota <8>
- Spring Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Bureau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,065 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Valley <8>
- Marseilles
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marseilles have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marseilles
- Marseilles is located in La Salle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,778 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marseilles <8>
- Oglesby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oglesby
- Oglesby is located in La Salle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,526 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oglesby <8>
- Sheridan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sheridan have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Sheridan is located in La Salle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,515 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sheridan <8>
- Seneca
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seneca have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Seneca is located in La Salle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,217 people
- Seneca has also been known as:
- Crotty
- Seneca village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seneca <8>
- Earlville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Earlville have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earlville
- Earlville is located in La Salle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,570 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Earlville <8>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Ottawa. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Ottawa.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Ottawa. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ottawa.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Ottawa. Our list includes 40 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Ottawa.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Ottawa ...
Looking for more information about Ottawa? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Ottawa, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Ottawa.
Adding Ottawa to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Ottawa in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Ottawa was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<10>
From that list, the Ottawa post office opened in 1832.
We also found Ottawa in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Ottawa.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Ottawa: www.cityofottawa.org/
The official website for La Salle County: www.lasallecounty.org/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including La Salle, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Ottawa. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Ottawa refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Ottawa may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Ottawa. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Ottawa - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | Area code (779) is an overlay for area code (815). |
| <7> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Ottawa). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Ottawa or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <10> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |