Emergency Crime Scene and Biohazard Cleanup in DeKalb, IL

DeKalb is the largest city in DeKalb County in northern Illinois, with a population of 40,290 at the 2020 census — actually down from 43,862 in 2010 as university enrollment shifted.

DeKalb is world-famous as the birthplace of modern barbed wire: local farmer Joseph F. Glidden received the patent for "The Winner," his twisted two-strand barbed wire design, on November 24, 1874, an invention that transformed fencing and settlement across the American West.

Glidden famously formed his first barbs using a coffee mill in his kitchen, then twisted a second wire around the first in his barn to hold the barbs in place; that barn is now part of the Joseph F. Glidden Homestead and Historical Center museum.

Hardware dealer Isaac L. Ellwood bought a half interest in Glidden's patent for just $265 in July 1874, and their Barb Fence Company made DeKalb the manufacturing center of the barbed wire industry; Ellwood's company eventually evolved into American Steel and Wire, later part of U.S. Steel.

DeKalb had three rival barbed wire barons — Glidden, Ellwood and Jacob Haish, inventor of the S-barb — and their patent war went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld Glidden's patent in 1892.

Barbed wire money built DeKalb's landmark mansions, including the Isaac Ellwood House, an 1879 Victorian mansion preserved as the Ellwood House Museum, famous for its three-story spiral staircase and original furnishings.

In 1895 Joseph Glidden donated about 63 acres of land to bring a state teachers' college to DeKalb — the Northern Illinois State Normal School, which grew into Northern Illinois University, today a major public research university and the city's defining institution.

DeKalb's university character shows in its Census numbers: the city has about 16,400 households, but only about 42 percent of homes are owner-occupied, and the median household income of roughly $46,500 is held down by its large student population.

DeKalb High School's sports teams are nicknamed the Barbs, after the barbed wire invented in the city.

Downtown DeKalb's Egyptian Theatre, built in 1929 with ornate Egyptian-themed decor, is one of the city's signature landmarks and still hosts films, concerts and touring comedians.