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
IPA: "di-KALB" with the L sound, unlike similarly
spelled locations where the L is silent, such as DeKalb
County, Georgia. The city is named after decorated German
war hero Johann De Kalb who gave his life for American
Independence 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 patent. After
several years of legal wrangling, in 1877 Glidden's
patent won and Glidden was declared the "Father
of Barbed Wire".[1] The industry gave DeKalb a
place in history and the nickname "Barb City".
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