Hinckley
John Sebree Log Cabin | This granite marker from 1917 is located in Pioneer Park at Hinckley, on the west edge of town, on Routh 30. It was originally on railroad right-of-way on the west side of Somonauk Road, south of the railroad track, near Little Rock Creek. It was moved to the new park in 1942, so the railroad could put in a second track, which never happened however. Sebree was the first permanent white settler in DeKalb County in 1834. DeKalb County Historical Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution were responsible for its placement. It was originally dedicated May 28, 1918.
Sycamore
Locations of Sycamore’s First Courthouse | 116 West State Street, Sycamore. The building was across the street from the present courthouse. Referred to in historical sources as being a “ramshackle” wooden structure, two stories high, 20×30 feet in size. It served as the courthouse from 1839-1850, and stood until 1882. The site is no (2020) occupied by the American Family Insurance Company building, said to have the same basic footprint as the historic courthouse. The marker was placed here in 1988 by the DeKalb County Historical Society and DeKalb County Board, as a post DeKalb County Sesquicentennial project.
North Grove School | 26745 Brickville Road, Sycamore. The only one room school in DeKalb County, preserved on its original site. Established in 1878 by the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church (today’s Salem Lutheran Church). Classes were taught strictly in Swedish until the late 1890s. Even the African-American children of former slave Henry Board had to learn to speak and understand Swedish. Closed in 1952, it has seen several preservation efforts since 1970, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
First Court Session in DeKalb County | The marker is on Coltonville Road, east of North First Street. The granite marker was done in 1917 by the DeKalb County Historical Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution. It recognizes the fact that the meeting took place on July 1, 1837 in the home of Clerk of the County Court Rufus Colton. He was the namesake of the town Coltonville, which hoped to become the county seat. Coltonville no longer existed as of 1850. The DeKalb County Board spent $15,000 in 2006 to redesign the marker site.
Carlos Lattin Log Cabin | This small plaque is located to the right of the doorway into 307 West State Street, Sycamore. Place by the DeKalb County Historical Society in 1934, it designates the location of the founding settler’s log cabin of 1835. Granddaughter Frances Lattin spoke about her Grandfather at the dedication. The depiction of the cabin on the plaque is inaccurate, based on a painting of it in the collections of the DeKalb County History Center, donated by Lattin descendants in 2010.
Malta
Lincoln Highway Seedling Mile | Located in the south parking lot of Kishwaukee College, off Malta Road, because of IDOT would not allow the marker to be placed on Route 38. Lincoln Highway was America’s first transcontinental road, connecting the east and west coasts. The Seedling Mile of 1914 was a hard surface brick road, Malta being the site of one of the earliest stretches of such pavement. Some of the historic bricks are known to exist in private collections.