Around 1828, Joseph Ogee, a man of mixed French and Native American descent, established a ferry and a cabin along the banks of the Rock River.
In 1829, an employee of Ogee was named postmaster at the newly constructed post office.
John Dixon, the eponymous founder, bought Ogee's Ferry in the spring of 1830 and brought his family to his newly purchased establishment on April 11 of that year.
Shortly after, the name of the post office was changed to Dixon's Ferry.

On May 4, 1873, the Truesdell Bridge collapsed resulting in the deaths of 45 people.
 A large number of people were on the bridge in order to watch a baptism ceremony in the river below.

Running by Interstate 88 is a road named Bloody Gulch Road.
The road is named after a murder and body disposal.
On September 12, 1885, two young men walked along a county road south of Dixon, one a farm hand named Joseph M. Mosse and the other, Frank C. Thiel, a traveling salesman from Elgin, IL.
The unemployed farmhand told the salesman of a place he could sell his Bibles and proceeded to take him to a farm where he had worked.
As the two men passed a gulch the farmhand struck and killed the salesman with a knife and a walnut baluster he was seen carrying under his arm.
He then buried the body in the culvert.
The body was later discovered when cattle refused to use the underpass en route to a milking barn.
An overnight rain had washed away some of the dirt exposing a limb.
When the sheriff arrived to question the farm hand, since he was seen leaving Dixon with the deceased, he pretended to get a drink while throwing a watch chain taken from the salesman in the bushes.
The evidence was found and the farmhand was eventually put in jail for life, while the road over the underpass began to be called Bloody Gulch Road.

In April 2012, Dixon Municipal Comptroller Rita Crundwell was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for embezzlement.
She used the embezzled funds to pay for her lavish lifestyle and what became one of the nation's best-known quarter horse-breeding programs, among other things.
Crundwell's crimes, thought to be the most substantial municipal theft in U.S. history, impacted Dixon's finances severely.
Federal prosecutors estimated the amount embezzled at $53 million since 1990.
The city sued the auditors who had failed to detect the embezzlement and the bank at which Crundwell maintained a secret account, and received $40 million in settlements.
In February 2013, Crundwell was sentenced to almost 20 years in prison.

On May 16, 2018, Matthew Milby, a 19-year-old student, entered Dixon High School and fired shots during graduation practice.
He was pursued by School Resource Officer Mark Dallas, of the Dixon Police Department.
After firing shots at the officer, the shooter was wounded by Dallas as he returned fire.
He was then taken into custody.
There were no additional injuries.
Around 1828, Joseph Ogee, a man of mixed French and Native American descent, established a ferry and a cabin along the banks of the Rock River. In 1829, an employee of Ogee was named postmaster at the newly constructed post office. John Dixon, the eponymous founder, bought Ogee's Ferry in the spring of 1830 and brought his family to his newly purchased establishment on April 11 of that year. Shortly after, the name of the post office was changed to Dixon's Ferry.
On May 4, 1873, the Truesdell Bridge collapsed resulting in the deaths of 45 people.  A large number of people were on the bridge in order to watch a baptism ceremony in the river below.
Running by Interstate 88 is a road named Bloody Gulch Road. The road is named after a murder and body disposal. On September 12, 1885, two young men walked along a county road south of Dixon, one a farm hand named Joseph M. Mosse and the other, Frank C. Thiel, a traveling salesman from Elgin, IL. The unemployed farmhand told the salesman of a place he could sell his Bibles and proceeded to take him to a farm where he had worked. As the two men passed a gulch the farmhand struck and killed the salesman with a knife and a walnut baluster he was seen carrying under his arm. He then buried the body in the culvert. The body was later discovered when cattle refused to use the underpass en route to a milking barn. An overnight rain had washed away some of the dirt exposing a limb. When the sheriff arrived to question the farm hand, since he was seen leaving Dixon with the deceased, he pretended to get a drink while throwing a watch chain taken from the salesman in the bushes. The evidence was found and the farmhand was eventually put in jail for life, while the road over the underpass began to be called Bloody Gulch Road.
In April 2012, Dixon Municipal Comptroller Rita Crundwell was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for embezzlement. She used the embezzled funds to pay for her lavish lifestyle and what became one of the nation's best-known quarter horse-breeding programs, among other things. Crundwell's crimes, thought to be the most substantial municipal theft in U.S. history, impacted Dixon's finances severely. Federal prosecutors estimated the amount embezzled at $53 million since 1990. The city sued the auditors who had failed to detect the embezzlement and the bank at which Crundwell maintained a secret account, and received $40 million in settlements. In February 2013, Crundwell was sentenced to almost 20 years in prison.
On May 16, 2018, Matthew Milby, a 19-year-old student, entered Dixon High School and fired shots during graduation practice. He was pursued by School Resource Officer Mark Dallas, of the Dixon Police Department. After firing shots at the officer, the shooter was wounded by Dallas as he returned fire. He was then taken into custody. There were no additional injuries.
Dixon, Illinois