Woodstock is a city in and the county seat of McHenry County, Illinois, United States, located 51 miles northwest of Chicago. The population was 25,528 at the start of 2017. The city's downtown includes a historic, turn-of-the-century town square, which is anchored by the landmark Woodstock Opera House and the Old McHenry County Courthouse. The city was named one of the nation's Dozen Distinctive Destinations in 2007 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The fictional town of Hawkins Falls, of the 1950s television soap opera Hawkins Falls, Population 6200, was patterned after Woodstock, Illinois.