DeKalb is located in northern Illinois in
DeKalb County west of
Chicago between
Rochelle and
Geneva along Highway 38 and north of
Interstate 88.
The city is the home of the barbed wire inventor, Joseph Glidden. He, along with Col. Isaac Ellwood, amassed a fortune from the invention and promptly built mansions to show it all off.
DeKalb has several "firsts" in its history including the first farm bureau, the first mile of the coast-to-coast Lincoln Highway and being birthplace of hybrid corn.
For those seeking post-high school education, the city is the host for Northern Illinois University. They celebrated their centennial in 1995.
