Lincoln Highway
Location: West Lincoln Highway, near present-day Carroll Avenue
Erected: c. 1921
Built by the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce in the early 1920's, this monument's inscription read, "DeKalb: a Live Wire City 10,000 Strong". "The wording on the archway, of course, alludes to the fact that barbed wire was invented in DeKalb and played a key role in the city’s history. While the archway boasts that the city was '10000 strong,' a photograph of the arch from the 1920s or 1930s includes a nearby population sign, which put the figure at 8,500". The structure eventually was demolished.
Source: DeKalb: a 'Live Wire' City 10000 Strong." NIU 100 Years -- DeKalb Community Mural. http://www.niu.edu/pubaffairs/mural/story13.html