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DeKalb County is a county located in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...
of Illinois. As of the
2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...
, the population was 100,420. Its county seat is
Sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * '' Acer pseudoplat ...
. DeKalb County is part of the Chicago-
Naperville Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city. Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was established by the banks of the DuPage rive ...
- Elgin, IL- IN- WI
Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
.


History

DeKalb County was formed on 4 March 1837, out of
Kane County, Illinois Kane County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 515,269, making it the fifth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Geneva, and its largest city is Aurora. Kane County i ...
. The county was named for
Johann de Kalb Johann von Robais, Baron de Kalb (June 19, 1721 – August 19, 1780), born Johann Kalb, was a Franconian-born French military officer who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was mortally ...
, a German (
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n) hero of the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. DeKalb County's area is approximately 632.7 square miles, and is located 63 miles west of Chicago. There are 19 townships in the county with the county seat at Sycamore. Between 1834 and 1837, settlements were formed in DeKalb County along streams and wooded areas due to fertile soil, wild game, and food and water opportunities. Primary growth stemmed from the introduction of the railroad which brought easier methods of transportation and opportunities for industrial growth. Early industries based in DeKalb County included Sandwich Mfg. Co, Marsh Harvester Co,
barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is ...
, and Gurler Bros Pure Milk Co. The county is noted for agriculture. In 1852, the DeKalb Agricultural Society produced the county's first Agricultural Fair, in Sycamore. Eventually farmers, businessmen, bankers and newspapermen organized to become the DeKalb County Soil Improvement Association, which later was split into DeKalb County Farm Bureau and DeKalb Agricultural Association ( DEKALB AgResearch, Inc., Monsanto). DeKalb County is credited with being the birthplace of the Farm Bureau movement. DeKalb County is also the 2nd largest hog producing county in Illinois and the 66th largest in the nation. Education has played an important role in the area with
Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a Public university, public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of ...
located in DeKalb and
Kishwaukee College Kishwaukee College is a public community college in Malta, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System and serves District 523, which encompasses most of DeKalb County, and parts of Lee, Ogle and La Salle counties. Hist ...
located in
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. Except for 2020 (COVID-19), a major fair has been held each year since 1887 at the Sandwich Fairgrounds in Sandwich. File:DeKalb County Illinois 1837.png, DeKalb County at the time of its creation in 1837


Pronunciation

Unlike similarly spelled locations, such as DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb denizens from Illinois pronounce the county name , with an L sound, as in German.


Geography

According to the
US Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal Statistical System of the United States, U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the Americans, Ame ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.


Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Sycamore have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.


Adjacent counties

* Boone County - north * McHenry County - northeast * Kane County - east * Kendall County - southeast *
LaSalle County LaSalle County is located within the Fox Valley and Illinois River Valley regions of the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 Census, it had a population of 109,658. Its county seat and largest city is Ottawa. LaSalle County is part of the ...
- south * Lee County - west *
Ogle County Ogle County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 53,497. Its county seat is Oregon, and its largest city is Rochelle. Ogle County comprises Rochel ...
- west * Winnebago County - northwest


Major highways

* Interstate 88 *
US Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...
*
US Route 34 U.S. Route 34 (US 34) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from north-central Colorado to the western suburbs of Chicago. Through Rocky Mountain National Park it is known as the Trail Ridge Road where it reaches elevation ...
*
Illinois Route 23 Illinois Route 23 (IL 23) is a north–south state highway in northern Illinois. It runs from Illinois Route 116 in Pontiac north to U.S. Route 14 south of Harvard. This is a distance of . Illinois 23 was established in 1918 as one of the ...
*
Illinois Route 38 Illinois Route 38 is an west–east state highway that runs across northern Illinois. It runs from U.S. Route 52 (US 52) in downtown Dixon to US 12/ US 20/ US 45 (Mannheim Road) in Westchester. It runs concurrently with ...
* Illinois Route 64 *
Illinois Route 72 Illinois Route 72 is an east–west state road in northern Illinois. It runs from the intersection with Illinois Route 73 north of Lanark east to Illinois Route 43 (Harlem Avenue) in Chicago. This is a distance of . Route description Ill ...
*
Illinois Route 110 110 may refer to: * 110 (number), natural number *AD 110, a year * 110 BC, a year *110 film, a cartridge-based film format used in still photography * 110 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route * 110 (song), 2019 song by ...


Demographics

As of the
2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
, there were 105,160 people, 38,484 households, and 23,781 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 41,079 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 85.1% white, 6.4% black or African American, 2.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 3.9% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 10.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.6% were
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
, 17.5% were
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, 8.7% were English, 7.0% were Polish, 6.4% were
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...
, 6.3% were Swedish, and 4.7% were Norwegian. Of the 38,484 households, 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.2% were non-families, and 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 29.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $54,002 and the median income for a family was $70,713. Males had a median income of $50,192 versus $35,246 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,179. About 7.7% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.


Communities


Cities

* DeKalb * Genoa * Sandwich (mostly) *
Sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * '' Acer pseudoplat ...


Town

* Cortland


Villages

*
Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in the administrative county of Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughbor ...
* Kingston * Kirkland *
Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...
(part) *
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
* Maple Park (part) *
Shabbona Shabbona (or Sha-bon-na), also known as ShaboneeSomonauk (mostly) * Waterman


Unincorporated Communities

* Afton Center * Charter Grove *
Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...
* Colvin Park * East Paw Paw * Elva * Esmond * Fairdale * Five Points * Franks *
McGirr McGirr Recorded as McGerr, McGirr, McGeer, and probably others, is an early Scottish and Irish surname, common in Ulster. It derives from the pre-10th century Gaelic 'Mac an gHeairr' which is believed to translate as 'the son of the short man'. What ...
* New Lebanon * Rollo * Shabbona Grove * Wilkinson


Townships

* Afton * Clinton * Cortland * DeKalb *
Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
* Genoa * Kingston *
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
* Mayfield * Milan * Paw Paw * Pierce * Sandwich *
Shabbona Shabbona (or Sha-bon-na), also known as ShaboneeSomonauk * South Grove * Squaw Grove *
Sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * '' Acer pseudoplat ...
* Victor


Politics

As part of Northern Illinois, DeKalb County was a stronghold for the
Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery int ...
in its early elections – being among nine Illinois counties to support Martin Van Buren in 1848 – and became overwhelmingly Republican for the century following that party's formation. The only time it did not back the official GOP nominee between 1856 and 1988 was in 1912 when the Republican Party was mortally divided and
Progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy pa ...
Theodore Roosevelt won almost half the county's vote. During this time, it rejected Democrats even in statewide and national landslides. In 1936, Republican candidate
Alf Landon Alfred Mossman Landon (September 9, 1887October 12, 1987) was an American oilman and politician who served as the 26th governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the 1936 presidential e ...
, won DeKalb County by double digits while losing 46 of 48 states. Landon held
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As th ...
to only 43 percent of DeKalb County's vote, the most he would garner in the county during his four runs for president. Even
Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presid ...
– renowned for his antagonism towards the establishment – won by seven percent despite losing sixteen percent of the vote compared to Richard Nixon in 1960. In 1992, with the third-party entrance of Ross Perot siphoning votes from Republican George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton became the first Democrat to carry the county in 140 years. Since then, DeKalb County has become more of a swing county in national elections, owing to the growth of the largely Democratic student population in DeKalb. However, it has bucked the Democratic trend seen in most counties dominated by college towns. Republicans still hold most county-level elected offices, and all municipalities outside of the city of DeKalb are still powerfully Republican. In 2008, an Illinois son,
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, became the first Democrat to win an absolute majority since Van Buren in the county's first-ever Presidential election of 1840. Obama repeated this in 2012, but gains for third-party candidates caused both major-party candidates to underperform in 2016.


Education


Tertiary

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a Public university, public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of ...
is in the county.


K-12

The following school districts have territory in the county, no matter how slight, even if their schools and/or administrative headquarters are in other counties:
Text list
/ref> K-12: * Belvidere Consolidated Unit School District 100 *
Central Community Unit School District 301 Central Community Unit School District 301 is a school district located mainly in Kane County, Illinois. It serves Burlington, Lily Lake, and portions of Elgin, Campton Hills, St. Charles and Pingree Grove, as well as several unincorporated ...
*
Community Unit School District 300 Community Unit School District 300 is a school district headquartered in Algonquin, Illinois, United States, a suburb of Chicago. The current superintendent of schools is Susan Harkin. The district is the 6th largest school district in the Stat ...
* DeKalb Community Unit School District 428 * Earlville Community Unit School District 9 * Genoa-Kingston Community Unit School District 424 * Hinckley-Big Rock Community Unit School District 429 * Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426 * Indian Creek Community Unit District 425 * Kaneland Community Unit School District 302 * Lee Center Community Unit School District 271 * Leland Community Unit School District 1 *
Sandwich Community Unit School District 430 Sandwich Community Unit School District #430 is a school district headquartered in Sandwich, Illinois, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country ...
* Somonauk Community Unit School District 432 * Sycamore Community Unit School District 427 Secondary: * Rochelle Township High School District 212 Elementary: * Creston Community Consolidated School District 161 * Eswood Community Consolidated District 269 * Steward Elementary School District 220


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in DeKalb County, Illinois


References


References

*
US Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
*
US National Atlas


Further reading

* Eric W. Mogren. ''Native Soil: A History of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau'' (DeKalb:
Northern Illinois University Press Northern Illinois University Press is a publisher and part of Northern Illinois University. The press publishes about twenty new books per year in history, politics, anthropology, and literature, with about 400 books currently in print.http://www. ...
, 2005), 288 pp.


External links

*
History pages for DeKalb County towns and cities
*
DeKalb County Youth Service Bureau


* ttp://www.DeKalbCountyOnline.com DeKalb County Online Newspaper {{DEFAULTSORT:Dekalb County, Illinois 1837 establishments in Illinois Chicago metropolitan area Illinois counties Populated places established in 1837