DeKalb

DeKalb is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city's name (as well as the name of DeKalb County, where it is located) is /dɨˈkælb/ "di-KALB". The city is named after decorated German war hero Johann De Kalb who died during the American Revolutionary War. Founded in 1837, DeKalb remained a small community until the arrival of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad in 1853. DeKalb's cen... more

DeKalb is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city's name (as well as the name of DeKalb County, where it is located) is /dɨˈkælb/ "di-KALB". The city is named after decorated German war hero Johann De Kalb who died during the American Revolutionary War. Founded in 1837, DeKalb remained a small community until the arrival of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad in 1853. DeKalb's central location brought easier shipping of crops and access to larger markets. Agriculture was the primary economic activity until 1873-4 when farmer Joseph Glidden developed barbed wire and began commercial mass production of his new invention. Glidden sold half of his interest to hardware merchant Isaac L. Ellwood and together the two formed the Barb Fence Company. Two months after Glidden filed his application for a patent, lumber salesman Jacob Haish also applied for a patent and on June 25, 1874 ran interference papers against Glidden's... less