DeKalb, Illinois

DeKalb (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,290 at the 2020 census. The city is named after decorated Franconian-French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War.

Founded in 1856, DeKalb became important in the development and manufacture of barbed wire, especially for agriculture and raising livestock. While agricultural-related industries remain a facet of the city, along with health and services, the city's largest employer in the 21st century is Northern Illinois University, founded in 1895. DeKalb is about Template:Convert from downtown Chicago.

History

File:Ellwood House DeKalb Illinois 2022-6682.jpg

Ellwood House, the home of entrepreneur Isaac L. Ellwood

DeKalb was originally called Huntley's Grove,<ref name="cityofdekalb.com">Template:Cite web</ref> and under the latter name was platted in 1853.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The name is for Baron Johann de Kalb, a major general in the American Revolutionary War.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The first church in DeKalb was organized in 1844.<ref name=oxen/>Template:Rp Beginning in 1846, a stage coach traveled from Chicago through DeKalb and Dixon to Galena.<ref name=oxen>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp A post office has been in operation at DeKalb since 1849.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The first railroad reached DeKalb in 1853.

Barbed wire was a key product in DeKalb's history. Joseph Glidden (1813–1906), a DeKalb resident since about 1850, received a patent in 1874 for inventing the conventional double-strand barbed wire that remains in common use around the world today.<ref name="cityofdekalb.com"/> Glidden and Isaac L. Ellwood (1833–1910) manufactured barbed wire in DeKalb, initially as the Barb Fence Company. Successor companies included the 1881 Superior Barbed Wire Company, which merged into American Steel and Wire in 1898 and finally became United States Steel. Between 1892 and 1898 Glidden and Ellwood played substantial parts in establishing the state teachers college that became Northern Illinois University.<ref name=oxen/>Template:Rp

DeKalb played a leading role in the development of commercial hybrid corn.<ref name=oxen/>Template:Rp From a base in the early county Farm Bureau, the DeKalb Agricultural Association produced large quantities of high-yield seed varieties, beginning in 1934. Until the mid-1970s, more American farmers planted DeKalb hybrid corn than any other brand. The DeKalb logo was a flying ear of corn. A series of joint ventures and mergers beginning in 1982 resulted in the DeKalb brand of agricultural products being owned by Bayer since 2017.Template:Citation needed

Geography

File:Kish1.JPG

The Kishwaukee River

DeKalb is in northern Illinois, about Template:Convert west of downtown Chicago and 30 miles southeast of Rockford. The South Branch Kishwaukee River flows northward through DeKalb.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, DeKalb has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (or 99.03%) is land and Template:Convert (or 0.97%) is water.<ref name="gaz2021">Template:Cite web</ref>

On August 24, 2007, the Kishwaukee River at DeKalb crested at Template:Convert (all-time record Template:Convert), causing major flooding. This was only the second time the river has risen above Template:Convert since the level of the river has been recorded.<ref name=dekalbnws>South Branch Kishwaukee River at DeKalb, Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, National Weather Service. Retrieved August 25, 2007.</ref>

Climate

DeKalb has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa) typical of northern Illinois, with four distinct seasons. Summers can be hot, while winters are cold and snowy. Precipitation is somewhat uniform year-round, although it can be heavier in the spring and summer when the area is prone to strong thunderstorms.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> there were 40,290 people, 15,839 households, and 7,804 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 16,629 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 58.73% White, 18.48% African American, 0.76% Native American, 3.92% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 7.99% from other races, and 10.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.83% of the population.

There were 15,839 households, out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.03% were married couples living together, 13.14% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.73% were non-families. 34.52% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.78% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.22 and the average family size was 2.45.

The city's age distribution consisted of 17.9% under the age of 18, 31.8% from 18 to 24, 24% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,223, and the median income for a family was $67,155. Males had a median income of $32,306 versus $17,703 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,819. About 17.8% of families and 26.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.8% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

As of the census of 2000, there are 39,018 people, 13,081 households, and 6,566 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,194.7/km² (3,093.9/mi²). There are 13,619 housing units at an average density of 417.0/km² (1,079.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 79.49% White, 9.08% African American, 0.24% Native American, 4.62% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 4.35% from other races, and 2.09% from two or more races. 9.04% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.Template:US Census population

Economy

DeKalb is home to Northern Illinois University, the city's largest employer and Illinois's third-largest campus.<ref name="daily-chronicle.com">Template:Cite web</ref> Other large employers include Northwestern Medicine, General Electric, Monsanto (originally as DeKalb Corn), the local school district, and a large retail district along Route 23 (shared with Sycamore).

DeKalb is also home to warehouses for several major companies, including Target, 3M, Nestlé, and Ferrara Candy Company, in part due to DeKalb's proximity to major highways such as I-88 and I-39. 3M's complex serves as the distribution hub for three of 3M's four business units and export operations to North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2011, DeKalb was the broadcast base of Up and In: The Baseball Prospectus Podcast with Kevin Goldstein and Jason Parks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The town was also the filming location for the 2012 film At Any Price.

In June, 2020, Meta announced it would construct an $800 million data center on the south side of DeKalb.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Arts and culture

File:DeKalb Theater Illinois 2022-6663.jpg

DeKalb Theater

DeKalb is home to the annual Corn Fest, usually held in late August.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Egyptian Theatre, built in 1929, is one of a handful of such theatres still extant in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Stage Coach Players, founded in 1947, have a theatre on 5th Street.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Parks and recreation

The DeKalb Park District is responsible for DeKalb's 44 parks and recreation facilities. Members of the League of Women Voters established the park district in 1935 to address the need for a public swimming pool. The City of DeKalb gave the first four parks to the District: Annie's Woods, Huntley Park, Liberty Park, and Hopkins Park.

In 2000 the district opened the Sports and Recreation Center, a multi-function facility that features an indoor field of over 1 acre, clear-span space with synthetic field turf. The park district provides year-round athletic and recreation programs including day camps, youth baseball and softball, adult softball leagues both indoors and outdoors, swimming lessons, golf lessons, karate, tennis, adult and youth basketball leagues, indoor soccer, fitness classes, and preschool.

The DeKalb Park District park system has 44 parks totaling over 700 acres: community parks, neighborhood parks, passive parks and linear parks. Notable parks and facilities include:

• River Heights Golf Course
• Buena Vista Golf Course
• Hopkins Park Pool and Community Center
• Nehring Center for Culture and Tourism
• Ellwood House Museum and Park

Government

DeKalb has a council-manager government. Policy is developed by an elected city council and implemented by an appointed professional city manager. The DeKalb City Council is made up of a mayor, elected at-large, and seven alderpersons, elected by ward. Each serves a four-year term, with half the council elected every two years. A city clerk is also elected every four years to serve as the city's official recordkeeper. City council meetings are held the second and fourth Mondays of every month.

The DeKalb Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency in DeKalb. It was founded in 1885 and has 65 sworn officers. The current chief of police is David Byrd.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

File:Altgeld Hall-1st bldg on campus ever.JPG

Altgeld Hall is the oldest building on the campus of Northern Illinois University.

There are 11 public schools, one private school, one university and one public library.

Primary and secondary

DeKalb is served by both public and private school systems. DeKalb Community Unit School District 428 operates eight elementary schools (Grades K–5), Clinton Rosette and Huntley Middle Schools (Grades 6–8), and DeKalb High School (Grades 9–12), which is the home of the Barbs.

Colleges and universities

Northern Illinois University (NIU) was founded in DeKalb as the Northern Illinois State Normal School in 1895. NIU is a comprehensive teaching and research institution with total enrollment around 20,000, which makes NIU the third largest campus in Illinois.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="daily-chronicle.com"/>

Transportation

File:DeKalb IL aerial.jpg

Aerial view of DeKalb, with airport (center)

Railway

The first railroad entered DeKalb on August 22, 1853. In 1864, the line became part of the Chicago and North Western Railway main line from Chicago to Omaha, which carried passengers until 1971. A depot between 6th and 7th Streets was built in 1891. The Union Pacific Railroad took control of the line in 1995. Since 2006, the nearest passenger rail service is at the Metra commuter system station in Elburn, Template:Convert east of DeKalb, which is accessible by bus. In January 2023, the Dekalb City Council voted to fund a transportation study aimed at determining feasibility of extending Metra Union Pacific West Line commuter rail service from Elburn to the city.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In May 2023, the initial key facts of the feasibility study were published, which showed that an extension to Dekalb was feasible based on commuter and daily ridership estimates.<ref>DeKalb Metra Extension Feasibility Study</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2024, Dekalb backed a regional feasibility study by federal officials to revive Amtrak service that ran as the Twin Cities Zephyr, the service was discontinued in the 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Road

The transcontinental Lincoln Highway was established through DeKalb in 1913. The first "seedling mile" of concrete pavement was built in 1914 at Malta, six miles west of DeKalb. The rest of Lincoln Highway across DeKalb County was paved in 1920.<ref name=oxen />Template:Rp The highway is now part of Illinois Route 38. The main north–south highway through DeKalb is Illinois Route 23, which forms an unusual intersection of two state highways and a major railroad at the corner of Fourth and Lincoln. Interstate Highway 88, part of the Illinois Tollway system, was completed to DeKalb around 1975 and passes just south of town, where there are two toll plazas and a service oasis that includes restaurants and a gas station. Via the tollway, DeKalb is Template:Convert west of Aurora and Template:Convert west of downtown Chicago.

Bus

Scheduled local bus service throughout the DeKalb area is provided by DeKalb Public Transit, a joint effort by the city in partnership with Northern Illinois University.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Routes extend through the university, the city, and Sycamore with extensions west to Kishwaukee College and east to the passenger rail station at Elburn.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Schedules on the main routes vary depending on whether the university is in session. The system began in 1971 as the Huskie Bus Line under contract to the NIU Student Association.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1982 the system served 3 million riders per year, second only in Illinois to the Chicago Transit Authority. In 2018, it merged with a smaller City of DeKalb bus system, which had been operated by the local Voluntary Action Center (VAC).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Paratransit operations were added in 2021, also by transfer from VAC.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> VAC continues to serve a wider surrounding area with on-demand transportation for people with special needs and to out-of-town medical appointments.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Airport

DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport (DTMA) Template:Airport codes, serving the general aviation community, is on the east side of the city at 3232 Pleasant Street. The airport opened in April 1944 in association with a factory making Interstate TDR assault drone aircraft. The city took ownership in 1948. There is no commercial service directly to DeKalb, but the city center is 43.43 miles away from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, making commercial air access relatively easy.

Notable people

• George Franklin Barber, architect, known as one of the most successful American domestic architects of the late Victorian period. He was born in DeKalb.<ref name=tomlan1>Michael Tomlan, Introduction to George F. Barber's Victorian Cottage Architecture: An American Catalog of Designs, 1891 (Dover Publications, 2004), pp. v-xvi.</ref><ref name=little>M. Ruth Little (2009). Barber, George F. (1854-1915), North Carolina Architects and Builders, A Biographical Dictionary. Website maintained by North Carolina State University Libraries. Accessed May 3, 2011.</ref>
• A. J. Bramlett, former professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Dennis J. Collins, Illinois lawyer and state legislator<ref>'Illinois Blue Book 1971-1972,' Biographical Sketch of Dennis J. Collins, pg. 156-157</ref>
• Cindy Crawford, model and actress, appeared on hundreds of magazine covers throughout her career and in 1995 was named the world's highest-paid model by Forbes. She was born and raised in DeKalb.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Joseph B. Ebbesen, optometrist and Illinois state legislator.<ref>'Illinois Blue Book 1983-1984, Biographical Sketch of Joseph B. Ebbesen, pg. 97</ref>
• Isaac L. Ellwood, rancher, businessman and barbed wire entrepreneur.<ref name=BARBED>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Philip Ewell, American professor of music theory at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Fred Eychaner, media mogul and philanthropist. He was raised in DeKalb.<ref name=FRED>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Joseph Glidden, farmer who patented barbed wire in 1874, which changed the development of the American West.<ref name=BARBED />
• Jacob Haish, one of the inventors of barbed wire.<ref name=BARBED />
• Barbara Hale, film actress and Emmy Award-winning co-star of Perry Mason television series.<ref name=jn>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
• Mike Heimerdinger, assistant coach for several NFL teams including the Denver Broncos and Tennessee Titans. He was born and raised in DeKalb.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Richard Jenkins, actor, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for his performances in The Visitor (2007) and The Shape of Water (2017) respectively. He was born and raised in DeKalb.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Mel Kenyon, racing driver
• Alan and Dale Klapmeier, co-founders of the Cirrus Design Corporation and 2014 inductees into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. They were raised in DeKalb and graduated from DeKalb High School.<ref name="ReferenceForBusiness">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Doug Mallory, former coach of the Atlanta Falcons. He attended DeKalb High School while his father was coach of the Northern Illinois Huskies.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>
• Karl Nelson, offensive tackle for the New York Giants. He played football for the DeKalb High School Barbs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Mel Owens, linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams from 1981 to 1989. He played football for the DeKalb High School Barbs.<ref name=PFR>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Richard Powers, author and winner of the 2006 National Book Award for Fiction for The Echo Maker.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Hellah Sidibe, former professional soccer player, ran across the United States in 2021.<ref>Zilis, Anthony. "DeKalb grad evaluates pro soccer prospects", Daily Chronicle, September 4, 2013. Accessed January 10, 2013. "Nine years ago, a player with a bright future in professional soccer was ecstatic just to make the DeKalb High School varsity team. Hellah Sidibe had moved permanently from Mali to DeKalb in 2004, where his parents each earned their Ph. D. at Northern Illinois University, and he was one of just a few freshmen to make the team."</ref>
• Weekend Nachos, powerviolence punk band. They were formed in DeKalb.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Sue Vicory, writer, film producer and filmmaker<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• W. Willard Wirtz, United States Secretary of Labor during the Kennedy administration and Johnson administration. He was born and raised in DeKalb where his home is preserved on the campus of Northern Illinois University.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• Haish Memorial Library
• Kishwaukee River
• Northern Illinois University
• Northern Illinois University shooting

External links

• Official website
• DeKalb Chamber of Commerce