DeKalb County, Illinois

DeKalb County, Illinois
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 100,420. Its county seat is Sycamore.
DeKalb County is part of the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
DeKalb County was formed on March 4, 1837, out of Kane County, Illinois. The county was named for Johann de Kalb, a German (Bavarian) hero of the American Revolutionary War. 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, 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 located in DeKalb and Kishwaukee College located in Malta. Except for 2020 (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), a major fair has been held each year since 1887 at the Sandwich Fairgrounds in Sandwich.
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 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 - south
Lee County - west
Ogle County - west
Winnebago County - northwest
Major highways
Interstate 88
US Route 30
US Route 34
Illinois Route 23
Illinois Route 38
Illinois Route 64
Illinois Route 72
Illinois Route 110
Demographics
As of the 2010 United States Census, 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, 17.5% were Irish, 8.7% were English, 7.0% were Polish, 6.4% were Italian, 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
Town
Cortland
Villages
Hinckley
Kingston
Kirkland
Lee (part)
Malta
Maple Park (part)
Shabbona
Somonauk (mostly)
Waterman
Unincorporated communities
Afton Center
Charter Grove
Clare
Colvin Park
East Paw Paw
Elva
Esmond
Fairdale
Five Points
Franks
McGirr
New Lebanon
Rollo
Shabbona Grove
Wilkinson
Townships
Afton
Clinton
Cortland
DeKalb
Franklin
Genoa
Kingston
Malta
Mayfield
Milan
Paw Paw
Pierce
Sandwich
Shabbona
Somonauk
South Grove
Squaw Grove
Sycamore
Victor
Politics
As part of Northern Illinois, DeKalb County was a stronghold for the Free Soil Party 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 Theodore Roosevelt won almost half the county's vote.
During this time, it rejected Democrats even in statewide and national landslides. In 1936, Republican nominee Alf Landon won DeKalb County by double digits while losing 46 of 48 states. Landon held Franklin D. Roosevelt 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 – 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, became the first Democrat to win DeKalb County with a majority since Van Buren in the county's first-ever presidential election, in 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 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:
K-12:
Belvidere Consolidated Unit School District 100
Central Community Unit School District 301
Community Unit School District 300
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
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, 2005), 288 pp.
External links
History pages for DeKalb County towns and cities
DeKalb County Youth Service Bureau
Taming the Wild Prairie: A History of DeKalb County, Illinois, 1837-1900, Illinois Historical Digitization Projects at Northern Illinois University Libraries
DeKalb County Online Newspaper
1837 establishments in Illinois
Chicago metropolitan area
Illinois counties
Populated places established in 1837