Five Fun Facts about DeKalb:
• The city is named after General Baron Johan DeKalb, a German soldier of fortune who served under George Washington during the Revolutionary War. He died from 11 wounds suffered while defending Camden, SC.
• In 1873, DeKalb farmer Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire, giving the town its nickname—“Barb City.”
• DeKalb succeeded in landing NIU over Rockford and other Illinois cities in 1895 by tricking the selection committee. The committee placed an importanceon their choice having a scenic river, but local Kishwaukee River had low water levels. So the whole town didn’t use water for the entire weekend before the committee came to inspect the town in order to build the water levels ludicrously high. Needless to say, the gambit worked.
• The 2000 romantic comedy Love 101 was filmed entirely on location in DeKalb. Jeff Anderson from Clerks was the straight-to-video’s only real recognizable face.
• Corn Fest, DeKalb’s most famous tradition, has been an annual event for nearly 30 years. It draws nearly 200,000 people to downtown DeKalb each year, with festivities such a well-attended auto show and ferociously competitive corn-art contest.
Famous People from DeKalb:
Cindy Crawford, Barbara Hale, Richard Jenkins, Charles Nash (former head of General Motors)
Local Slang:
Corn County – The local surroundings
Kish – Kishwaukee Community College
The City – Chicago
Wally World – The local Super Wal-Mart