DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association, Inc.

Native American leader Chief Shabbona and had an impactful relationship with the early settlers of DeKalb. Photo Credits: Joiner History Room Bob Myers Academic Sources: From Oxen To Jets, a History of DeKalb County 1835-1963, Harriet Wilson Davy ed., Dixon, IL: Rogers Printing Company, 1963.

Learn the history of the Somonauk United Presbyterian Church, and how it is ingrained in the culture of historic and modern DeKalb. Photo Credits: Joiner History Room DeKalb County Historical & Genealogical Society Academic Sources: “Somonauk United Presbyterian Church,” Sandwich Free Press, April 15, 1915. Nancy M. Beasley, The Underground Railroad in DeKalb County, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers, 2013.

The infamous story of how a Civil War horse named Charley survived perilous circumstances. Photo Credits: Joiner History Room Library of Congress Academic Sources: Silas Wesson diary “Civil War Diary Tells of Life in Union Army,” The DeKalb Daily Chronicle. February 27, 1961.

The history behind an expansive local forest preserve, aiming to protect and preserve our local wildlife and fauna. Photo Credit: Bob Myers

John Sebree established the first permanent settlement in what is now known as DeKalb County. Photo Credits: Joiner History Room Bob Myers Academic Sources: History of DeKalb County, Illinois. 1868. Henry L. Boies. O.P. Bassett, Printer: Chicago. Portrait and Biographical Album DeKalb, County, Illinois.1885. Chapman Brothers: Chicago.

The historical homestead of Henry Rose is one of the earliest permanent locations in the area of DeKalb, Illinois. Sources: Joiner History Room Bob Myers United States Patent and Trademark Office https://www.uspto.gov/

Another one of the earliest settlements on the territory now known as the Southern part of DeKalb county. Photo Credits: Joiner History Room Sarah Belch [map design] Academic Sources: Portrait and Biographical Album of Champaign County, Illinois, Chapman Brothers, Chicago, 1887.