How many other places across the United States also hold the same name as our fair county and how do they differ from this area?
DeKalb County, Alabama, where I am from, is nestled at the end of the Appalachian Mountains. The county seat is Fort Payne and the county as a whole boasts a population of less than 70,000.
This mid-Georgia county is only a few hour's drive from Alabama DeKalb County. Unlike the small population of DeKalb, Alabama, DeKalb County, Georgia has a population of over 650,000, more than 9 times the population of DeKalb County, Alabama. It's county seat is Decatur, Georgia. (And as it turns out there is also a Decatur, Alabama; however it isn't in DeKalb.)
DeKalb County, Tennessee
Also just a few hours drive from DeKalb County, Alabama, DeKalb, Tennessee is close to the middle of Tennessee. It is a very small county, only 329 square miles, less than half the size of DeKalb, Alabama and has a population of less than 18,000. Its county seat is Smithville.
Also a small county with 364 square miles but its population, while still smaller than DeKalb, Alabama, is twice that of DeKalb, Tennessee's small numbers. Its county seat is Auburn, Indiana (also an Alabama city in south Alabama and home of the 2011 BCS Championship football team).
This county has an even smaller population than DeKalb, Tennessee, coming up just over 11,000 for a 426 square mile area. Maysville, Missouri, with a population of just over 1,000, is the county seat.
Moving on to municipalities now, DeKalb, Illinois is a city located near central north of the state, within driving distance of Chicago. It boasts a population of almost 40,000, more than the whole counties of DeKalb in Missouri, Tennessee, and Indiana (and some of them combined!).
A model of small town, USA, DeKalb, Texas is the size of many of the separate municipalities in the county of DeKalb, Alabama. It is located near the city of Texarkana. Fun fact: DeKalb, Texas is the birthplace of "Bonanza" star Dan Blocker who played Hoss on the series.
Although the spelling is slightly different, the town is another example of typical small towns across the south. The population is less than 1,000.
With the same spelling as Mississippi's De Kalb, this small city in northern New York state, has a population of over 2,000.
Origin of the name
One similar item among all the DeKalb's across the United States is who these counties and municipalities were named after. Johann de Kalb was a German soldier who was a general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He died in 1780 at the age of 59. Not only are there counties and cities named after him but several roads across the United States are also named in his honor.
Sources: linked in article
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