DeKalb, Illinois

City: DeKalb

County: DeKalb County

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 41.9167, -88.7500

DeKalb, Illinois is a city in DeKalb County. Located in northern Illinois twenty-eight miles south-southeast of Rockford, DeKalb began as a village that was incorporated in 1856. In 1861, the city of DeKalb became incorporated. DeKalb was formerly known as Huntley's Grove, named for early settler Russell Huntley, and as Buena Vista, named for the Mexican War battle of the same name. DeKalb's population grew from 1,588 in 1855 to 1,976 in 1865. The U.S. Post Office Department established a post office in the area in February 1849, known as DeKalb Centre. It changed to DeKalb in 1883.

Henry L. Boies, History of DeKalb County, Illinois (Chicago: O. P. Bassett, 1868), 491; Edward Callary, Place Names of Illinois (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2009), 90; Webster's New Geographical Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1988), 321.