DeKalb County Timeline of Events 1837-1998
| 1837 | Illinois passes bill to create DeKalb County | March 4, 1837; From Oxen to Jets page 12 |
| 1837 | First DeKalb County School | From Oxen to Jets page 117 & 120 |
| 1837 | First meeting of the County Commissioners court | July 3, 1837 |
| 1837 | Decision on exact location of county seat | October 1837 |
| 1838 | Sycamore Post Office established | March 2, 1838 |
| 1839 | Property assessed in District 2 for the year 1938 | |
| 1845 | Trespass trial between Ross and Nesbitt in April term of court | |
| 1845 | Jury trial; Judge John D. Caton; Lawyers O. Peterson and A. Lincoln | Vol. 7 p.252-258 "Illinois Reports" |
| 1850 | Plank road built between Sycamore and St. Charles complete with toll gates | Boies History p. 408 |
| 1850 | Townships formed; Somonauk, Franklin, Richland (Cortland), Liberty (Mayfield), Sycamore, Orange (DeKalb), Genoa, Clinton, Kingston, Shabbona, Paw Paw | |
| 1853 | Charter - Masons - oldest existing lodge in Sycamore. See Neat Stuff book 7 page 39 | October 4, 1853 |
| 1854 | First Agricultural Society roganized in DeKalb County. Held Agricultural Fair | |
| 1854 | DeKalb County Republican party "The Wide Awakes" organized. | |
| 1856 | First DeKalb County jail built | |
| 1857 | History of Sycamore 1857 - 1858 reprinted in Sycamore True Republic | January 23, 1895 |
| 1858 | Marsh Harvester patented; Charles and William Marsh | |
| 1860 | A political rally - backing Republican presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln - held in DeKalb Center in November. 30,000 people in attendance, the speaker was Cassius Clay. | S.T.R. 40 Yrs. Ago Column Sept. 19, 1900 |
| 1865 | Jeff Davis hung and burned in effigy in Sycamoe. | S.T.R. November 15, 1905 |
| 1865 | Mrs. Shabbona (wife of Indian Chief) died by drowning | S.T.R. January 8, 1865 |
| 1867 | The Half-shire act is voted down | DeKalb News April 3, 1867; JHR Box 369 MS 35 |
| 1867 | Prospectus for Boies History published | |
| 1867 | Much rivalry between DeKalb and Sycamore; Temperance Movement strong; County Fairs | |
| 1867 | World news; Jeff Davis treason trials; Charles Dickens lecturing in US, Mark Twain lecturing; Yosemite and Sequoia parks established; President Johnson impeachment trial; General Grant in news; Indian uprising in Kansas and Montana | |
| 1868 | New post office established at Henry Christman's in South Grove township named Dustin | S.T.R. May 13, 1908 (40 Yrs Ago) |
| 1868 | Subscription for branch telegraph line to Sycamore from main line at Cortland | S.T.R. August 15, 1908 (40 Yrs Ago) |
| 1870 | Fire destroys a whole block in downtown Sycamore | December 1870 |
| 1870 | The Superintentend of the Poor Farm started sending annual lists of inmates and statistics on them to County Supervisors. | |
| 1870 | Sandwich village incorporated | |
| 1870 | Waterman established | S.T.R. December 21, 1870 |
| 1870 | Christine Nelsson, Swedish Opera singer in Sycamore | S.T.R. December |
| 1871 | Susan B. Anthony lectures in Sycamore | April 1, 1871 |
| 1871 | New Methodist Church in Sycamore | January 21, 1871 |
| 1871 | Chicago Fire | October 11, 1871 |
| 1871 | County purchased first fire insurance on County buildings | |
| 1871 | Plans under way for Soldier's monument | June 14, 1871 |
| 1871 | Interesting school article about teachers | February 4, 1871 |
| 1871 | Marsh Harvester Works | |
| 1871 | Sycamore purchased $300 worth of hook and ladder equipment for fire department | April 8, 1871 |
| 1871 | Town of Squaw Grove changed name to Hinckley | January 11, 1871 |
| 1872 | Waterman Station platted | May 29, 1872 |
| 1872 | North Grove School | August 28, 1872 |
| 1872 | Malta fire | June 5, 1872 |
| 1872 | Tobacco raised in DeKalb County | September 4, 1872 |
| 1872 | Reunion of 105th Civil War soldiers in Shabbona | September 7, 1872 |
| 1872 | Cornton changed to Shabbona | May 29, 1872 |
| 1872 | Sycamore Fire Department organized | June 15, 1872 |
| 1874 | G.A.R. Potter Post organized in Sycamore | |
| 1876 | First High School graduating class in Sycamore | June 21, 1876 |
| 1876 | Horses at the "Driving Park" this week valued at nearly $1,000,000 | July 29, 1876 |
| 1877 | Glidden House Hotel in DeKalb open to public in two weeks, describes house | April 28, 1877 S. T. R. |
| 1877 | Mormon Chuch in Sandwich | May 30, 1877 S. T. R. |
| 1877 | Givens, Charles, Malta murder | October 10, 1877 S. T. R. |
| 1877 | St. Peter's Church in Sycamore | November 14, 1877 S. T. R. |
| 1877 | St. Peter's Church in Sycamore, cornerstone | October 27, 1877 |
| 1877 | West School in Sycamore, construction, new school ready for use by October 1 | August 29, 1877 S. T. R. |
| 1877 | DeKalb officially becomes a city, randed with London, Paris, Bienna, Pekin, New York and Sycamore | February 24, 1877 S. T. R. |
| 1877 | Flax grown in DeKalb County | February 24, 1877 S. T. R. |
| 1877 | Flax grown in DeKalb County | April 18, 1877 |
| 1877 | Jail break attempt | March 21, 1877 |
| 1877 | Chicago, trees being transplanted from Sycamore | March 24, 1877 S. T. R. |
| 1877 | Chicago, trees being transplanted from Sycamore | February 24, 1877 S. T. R. |
| 1877 | Waterman Station incorporated as village | March 24, 1877 S. T. R. |
| 1878 | Carriages and buggies, first manufactured in DeKalb County | February 23, 1878 S. T. R. |
| 1878 | Telephone, first | May 1, 1878 S. T. R. |
| 1878 | Orphan Train stopping in DeKalb County | January 26, 1878 |
| 1878 | Orphan Train stopping in DeKalb County | March 23, 1878 |
| 1878 | Orphan Train stopping in DeKalb County | February 16, 1878 |
| 1878 | Chicago, huge trees being transplanted from Sycamore | April 20, 1878 S. T. R. |
| 1878 | Fountain, new fountain at court house park (courthouse) | May 29, 1878 S. T. R. |
| 1878 | Depression hits DeKalb County | 1878 |
| 1878 | Lovell, James obituary and biography | April 6, 1878 and April 17, 1878 S. T. R. |
| 1878 | Burns, Bobby part in Malta | February 2, 1878 S. T. R. |
| 1878 | Economic depression and bankruptcy in DeKalb County | 1878 |
| 1879 | Maple Park, officially changed name from Lodi | December 24, 1879 S. T. R. |
| 1879 | Alexander, George, murder case, negro shoots white wife | March 26, 1879 and more for a week |
| 1879 | Alexander, George, scaffold built at DeKalb County Jail to hang George | Commisisoners papers 1879 |
| 1883 | DeKalb, Post office name of DeKalb Center officially becomes DeKalb to take effect July 1, 1883 | June 2, 1883 S. T. R. |
| 1883 | Ku Klux Klan in DeKalb County | August 15, 1883 S. T. R. |
| 1884 | Grave Robbers, the year of in DeKalb County | 1884 |
| 1884 | Congregational Church built in Sycamore | 1884 |
| 1884 | Kindergarten, first in Sycamore | April 30, 1884 S. T. R. |
| 1884 | Skating Rink built in Sycamore | November 12, 1884 S. T. R. |
| 1884 | Marsh Binder Company, failure | July 1884 |
| 1884 | Marsh Binder Company, sale | September 1884 |
| 1885 | Grant, General, Sycamore mourns death | July 25, 1885 S. T. R. |
| 1885 | Grant, General, Sycamore mourns death | August 8, 1885 |
| 1885 | Elva, new station on the Northern Illinois railway is born | August 12, 1885 S. T. R. |
| 1885 | Shabbona platted, on north and south railroad | August 5, 1885 S. T. R. |
| 1885 | Congregational Church, dedication in Sycamore | August 22, 1885 S. T. R. |
| 1886 | Hayden, post office opened in Afton Township (formerly Newton, future McGirr) | November 20, 1886 S. T. R. |
| 1886 | Richardson, new station on the M & NW railroad 6 miles east of Sycamore | December 11, 1886 S. T. R. |
| 1886 | Glove factory in DeKalb burns | December 20, 1886 S. T. R. |
| 1886 | Carlton, new station on the Northern Illinois railway in Afton Township | May 19, 1886 S. T. R. |
| 1886 | Kirkland Methodist Church dedication | March 17, 1886 S. T. R. |
| 1886 | Blackberry in Kane County changed name to Elburn | March 10, 1886 S. T. R. |
| 1886 | Blackberry in Kane County changed name to Elburn, changed by postmaster general | April 1, 1886 |
| 1886 | Johnson, Isaac, Sycamore furniture maker get patent on reclining rocking chair | December 1, 1886 S. T. R. |
| 1886 | National news - Labor unions demand eight hour day | 1886 |
| 1886 | Kingston, fire | February 3, 1886 S. T. R. |
| 1886 | 13th Regt. Illinois Infantry, survivors hold reunion in Dixon; List of names | April 7, 1886 S. T.R. p.4 col. 1 |
| 1886 | Butter, official report shows DeKalb County produced more butter than any other county in Illinois | April 3, 1886 S. T. R. |
| 1887 | Boynton house completed in Sycamore | |
| 1887 | Chadwick, village of Chadwick platted. 6 miles west of Sycamore on the Milwaukee & N.W. Railroad, a depot to be built there | March 30, 1887 S.T. R. |
| 1887 | Railroad, Minnesota & North Western railroad completed from Chicago to Sycamore | |
| 1887 | Esmond, new town on the Van Horne homestead in South Grove Township. | January 29, 1887 S. T. R. |
| 1887 | Railroads being built across DeKalb County mentioned in nearly every issue of S. T. R. | O.T.J. page 16 |
| 1887 | W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor born in Sandwich in 1887 | O.T.J. page 236 |
| 1888 | Election, S. T. R. had two pages of election results when Harrison was elected president; official results of DeKalb County polls. | November 10. 1888 |
| 1888 | Republican rally in Sycamore; Gov. Oglesby speaker, 10,000 attend, parade 2 miles long. | October 20. 1888 |
| 1888 | Sandwich Fair Association formed | |
| 1888 | Sycamore merchants listed in S. T. R. | October 6, 1888 |
| 1889 | Alida Young Temple dedicated by Odd Fellows and Masons | July 22, 1889 |
| 1889 | Waterman Hall opened as a fashionable girls school on Somonauk Street in Sycamore | |
| 1890 | Sioux Reservation, Presidential proclamation opening Sioux Reservation in South Dakota | February 12, 1890 S.T. R. |
| 1891 | Waterman State Bank founded, assets 4 3/4 million. | O.T.J. page 73 |
| 1891 | Sycamore Library, vote to tax for establishment of Sycamore Library, First Board of Directors elected | May 13, 1891 S. T. R. |
| 1892 | General Electric Company formed in 1892 | O. T. J. page 64 |
| 1892 | Sycamore Library, officially opened | August 17, 1892 |
| 1893 | DeKalb Public Library, established | July 1, 1893 O.T.J. page 139 |
| 1893 | Worlds Fair (Columbia Expo) in Chicago | |
| 1894 | Bicycle riding becomes very popular for both men and women | |
| 1895 | Sycamore Hospital established | O.T.J. page 86 |
| 1895 | Aid for Nebraska farmers suffering from crop losses due to drought, collections being made in Sycamore | Janaury 16, 1895 S. T. R. |
| 1895 | Small pox epidenic all over DeKalb County | |
| 1895 | Sycamore True Republic started 10 part series on news from the past, articles from 1857 - 1865 | |
| 1895 | Northern Illinios Normal School, decision on site | |
| 1895 | Income tax begins | February 2, 1895 S.T.R. |
| 1896 | Petition for division of Somonauk township | |
| 1896 | Soldiers and Sailors monument built in Sycamore in front of courthouse | November 1896 |
| 1896 | McKinley vs Bryan for Presidency, big political rally held in Sycamore; Bryan visits DeKalb | |
| 1897 | Soldiers and Sailors monument dedicated at courthouse lawn | June 16, 1897 June 26, 1897 S.T.R. |
| 1897 | Deaths, list of deaths from 1896 | January 9, 1897 S. T. R. |
| 1897 | Percy, Artic explorer, visits Scyamore and fives lecture | October 20, 1897 S. T. R. |
| 1897 | Elmwoom Cemetery in Sycamore, fence and gates erected | May 22 and August 7, 1897 S. T. R. |
| 1897 | Sycamore Surgical Hospital established over Briggs, Helson & Olson's store | March 27 and September 22, 1897 S. T. R. |
| 1898 | Telephones came to Sandwich | Page 205 Oxen to Jets |
| 1898 | President McKinley stopped briefly in DeKalb as his train headed for Omaha | October 11 and 15, 1898 S. T. R. |
| 1898 | Dog tags - first, Soldiers (Spanish American War) to wear identification tags made of aluminum | May 18, 1898 S. T. R. |
| 1899 | Electric street lights - first in Sycamore | November 15, 1899 S. T. R. |
| 1899 | Sycamore Baptist Church on Elm Street completed and dedicated | October 21, 1899 S. T. R. |
| 1899 | Fare on Chicago North Western train between Sycamore and Chicago was 85 cents | September 18, 1899 S. T. R. ] |
| 1899 | Train robbery in Maple Park | October 18, 1899 S. T. R. |
| 1901 | Sunday, Rev. William, former baseball player, held revival services in a large tent in Sycamore | July 13, 1901 S. T. R. |
| 1911 | Thompson, Johnny became middle weight champion of the world | |
| 1902 | Electric street car line established between Sycamore and DeKalb | |
| 1903 | New pavement laid on State Street in Sycamore, hitching post moved to Maple and Main | December 9, 1903 S. T. R. |
| 1904 | Automobiles, first in Sycamore Elmer Boynton, Fred Townsend and William Tapper, Three red Cadillacs - $900 each | May 21, 1904 S. T. R. |
| 1904 | Piano factory in DeKalb | |
| 1904 | Electric Park opens | |
| 1904 | Pierce Building build (Henderson building, Sycamore Center) | |
| 1904 | DeKalb High School built | |
| 1904 | Library in Sycamore under construction, dedicated in 1905 | |
| 1904 | Courthouse finished and dedicated | |
| 1904 | St. Louis Worlds Fair | |
| 1904 | Houses numbered for in city mail delivery | |
| 1904 | State Street paved, some streets paved with brick | |
| 1905 | Sycamore Public Library opens | |
| 1905 | Controversy over mail-order catalogs - Sears, Wards and Marshall Fields | |
| 1914 | Office of tax collector abolished and replaced by County Treasurer | |
| 1914 | Sycamore post office built at corner of State and Main Street | |
| 1915 | Sycamore Chamber of Commerce, originally called Booster Club, first meeting September 15 | |
| 1917 | Sycamore chapter of the American Red Cross formed | May 9, 1917 S. T. R. |
| 1918 | Authorization to buy Liberty Bonds | |
| 1918 | Flu epidemic across the United States | |
| 1918 | Woodrow Wilson President | |
| 1918 | World War I ends | |
| 1918 | Famous firsts - Wonder Bread, Payer Asprin, airmail | |
| 1918 | Songs - KKKaty, I'm always chasing Rainbows, Rock a bye your baby, Till we meet again | |
| 1918 | Costs - 3 bedroom home $3,235; Average income $1,106; New Ford $525; Galon of gas 25 cents; loaf of bread 10 cents; gallon of milk 54 cents | |
| 1918 | Waterman Hall in Sycamore became St. Albans | |
| 1920 | Elks Club in Sycamore gets title to the Westgate Hospital building | August 18 and 21, 1920 S. T. R. |
| 1920 | American Legion in Sycamore post formed | February 11, 1920 S. T. R. |
| 1920 | Tuberculosis Sanitorium built | |
| 1920 | First concrete road, Lincoln Highway paved | Page 16 Oxen to Jets |
| 1921 | Taft, Lorado spoke to the Sycamore Kiwanians at the community center | 14-Feb-21 |
| 1923 | World War I bonus paid | May 5, 1923 S. T. R. page 1 |
| 1923 | Newspaper headlines about bookleffing and moonshine stills | |
| 1924 | Work started on Route 23 | Page 16 From Oxen to Jets |
| 1927 | Fargo Hotel grand opening in Sycamore | 05/07/1927 S.T.R. |
| 1929 | Fargo Theatre in Sycamore first "talkies" | December 7, 1929 S. T. R. |
| 1929 | Highway 64 completed from Sycamore to Chicago | |
| 1929 | Three bank closings in December | |
| 1929 | Egyptian Theatre opens in DeKalb | December 14, 1929 S. T. R. |
| 1929 | Sycamore to have a motorcycle cop | July 3, 1929 S. T. R. |
| 1929 | "Machine Gun" Thompson in Sycamore jail | May 4, 1929 S. T. R. |
| 1929 | DeKalb County Airport opens in Waterman | June 22, 1929 S. T. R. |
| 1929 | Electric Park pavillion fire | June 14, 1929 S. T. R. |
| 1929 | Student body at Sycamore High School heard the inaugeral address of President Hoover via RADIO. | March 6, 1929 S. T. R. |
| 1936 | First old age pension checks released April 1, 1936, DeKalb County had 525 applications | March 18, 1936 S. T. R. |
| 1936 | DeKalb County built first black top roads | Page 16 From Oxen to Jets |
| 1936 | Armory in Sycamore built | October 9, 1936 Sycamore Citizen |
| 1941 | Ward Opera House burned | July 11, 1941 S. T. R. |
| 1947 | First new car since the war started arriving in DeKalb. Fourth Street Motors | |
| 1947 | Oldsmoibles with hydramatic drive - in bright colors | January 1947 DeKalb Chronicle |
| 1947 | Tuberculosis Sanitorium reports 4 deaths from T. B. in past year; 26 patients admitted, 17 discharged | |
| 1947 | Northern Illinois State Teachers College, 18 buildings set up on campus for housing veterans | 4-Jan-47 |
| 1949 | Parking meters go into use in Sycamore | 2-Jun-47 |
| 1949 | W. L. B. K. begins broadcasting | |
| 1952 | Ordinance passed by DeKalb City Council to remove "remains" from Needham Cemetery on Pleasant Street | May 7, 1952 DeKalb Chronicle |
| 1952 | Little League started in Sycamore - summer | |
| 1953 | National Tea Store planned on Nesbitt tract | |
| 1954 | Sycamore, downtown stores to stay open Friday nights instead of Saturday | |
| 1959 | DeKalb's first corn boil | |
| 1960 | Jewel Tea grand opening on Sycamore Road - August | |
| 1964 | Alida Young Temple burned | 29-Jan-64 |
| 1968 | Food Stamp program in DeKalb - June | |
| 1969 | Ovitz, Carol admitted to Chicago Board of Trade | 30-Jun-69 |
| 1970 | Hud grant awarded in DeKalb | |
| 1970 | Shabbona State Park approved | |
| 1970 | Medical Health complex oked | |
| 1970 | Missing Northern Illinois University coed found | |
| 1970 | Four Wurlitzer employees killed in plane crash | |
| 1970 | Northern Illinois University students riot | |
| 1971 | Last run of the Kate Shelly train | |
| 1998 | Habitat for Humanity built first house in Sycamore | |
| 1998 | Sycamore couple, Ancil and Connie Young won 30 million dollar lottery in April | |
| 1998 | Joiner History Room moved from court house to library in June | |
| 1998 | Ground breaking for new DeKalb County nursing home in May |
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