DeKalb County, Indiana

Founding: 1837 (declared in 1835)
Parent county: Unorganized territory

Namesake: Johann de Kalb, Continental Army general
Seat: Auburn (1837–)

Land area: 363 square miles

Population (2020): 43,265

Population (historic): 1,968 (1840); 13,880 (1860); 20,225 (1880); 25,711 (1900); 24,911 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1840–1900; 1910s; 1940–2020

Subdivisions: Three cities; six towns; 15 townships

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 5,499 (30.9%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 73.3%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 9.9%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 9%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 7.5%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $1,601
Average outbuilding value (1930): $1,485

Average farmhouse size (1940): 7.3 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 2,461
Average farm size (1920): 73.7 acres
Sources of settlement: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Germany, and New York

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Auburn

Namesake: Unknown

Founding: 1836 (platting); 1839 (post office); 1849 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 13,412

Population (historic): 260 (1850); 677 (1870); 3,396 (1900); 5,088 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1850–2020
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 1,437 (23.6%)

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Outstanding Buildings

1. Log House Ruins. 7098 County Road 19. Butler.
2. William Cornell Farm (c. 1863). 2132 County Road 68. Butler. Italianate.
3. Anthony Zonker Farm (c. 1880). 841 County Road 16. Fairfield. Italianate.
4. Samuel Firestone House (c. 1870). 6627 County Road 16. Franklin.
5. School Number One (1904). 4445 County Road 4. Smithfield. Romanesque. Razed.
6. James Kelley Farm (c. 1865). 4275 County Road 22. Smithfield. Italianate/Gothic Revival. Razed.
7. Henry Rempis Farm (c. 1870). 2360 County Road 31. Smithfield. Italianate.
8. St. Michael Catholic Church (1921). 1098 County Road 39. Smithfield. Romanesque/Classical Revival.
9. Freeman Kelley Farm (c. 1870). 2202 State Route 427. Smithfield. Italianate.
10. Riverdale School (c. 1905). 5585 County Road 68. Spencer. Romanesque.
11. Tamarack School (1911). 448 County Road 79. Troy. Romanesque.
12. John Brandon House (c. 1850). 819 North Indiana Avenue. Union. Greek Revival.
13. House (c. 1910). 1000 North Indiana Avenue. Union. Classical Revival.
14. Henry Husselman House (c. 1860). 2214 North Main Street. Union. Gothic Revival.
15. Edsall Cherry House (c. 1855). 3080 County Road 65. Wilmington.

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