History of Sycamore, Illinois
Early Settlement
The first settlers to the Sycamore-area arrived in 1835 and concentrated themselves mostly north of the Kishwaukee River and the present site of Sycamore. The original town was platted by a New Yorker named Christian Sharer. A mill was constructed and the Kishwaukee dammed but the town failed. By 1837, after some controversy, the location of county seat was settled in favor of Orange, Sycamore's original name, and the settlement moved to the present-day site of the city.
The present-day town site was platted by James Waterman and Evans Wharry in 1837. The first settler at the new site was Carlos Lattin, who preceded the town, having arrived in 183. Lattin staked a claim that included most of the present west side of the city and erected his first cabin just north of downtown.
County Seat Controversies
Early in the city's history, it seemed that Sycamore might not be the proper location of the DeKalb County Courthouse; other towns were vying for the county seat title. A now defunct town called Brush Point was the choice of a Dr. Henry Madden and Rufus Colton would have preferred Coltonville, where he made his home.
Colton, the Clerk of the Court and preparer of the writs and process of the court, had set the first session of county court to be held at his home, in Coltonville. In his attempt to make Coltonville the county seat, Colton decided to hold a new election for the status in 1837. Colton made sure that Coltonville would win the election by telling only the population of Coltonville about it. His political tactics were eventually cancelled by an act of the Illinois General Assembly, after the DeKalb County court intervened. When court convened the sheriff served a court order declaring a courthouse be built in Sycamore. Afterward, Coltonville eventually suffered the same fate as Brush Point and disappeared from the map. These events seemingly settled the issue of where the courthouse and, in turn, the DeKalb County seat was going to be located.
In 1903, as the county prepared to construct a new courthouse, the debate over county seat was reignited. This time, it was the city of DeKalb that sought to wrest the title of county seat away from Sycamore. Two of DeKalb's most prominent citizens, Jacob Haish and Isaac L. Ellwood, each promised to donate US$20,000 to help absorb some of the new building's cost. The city of Sycamore responded, raising funds of their own, and after some back and forth and legal wrangling, the issue was settled in Sycamore's favor.
Later Settlement
Following the end of the second county seat controversy, in 1839, the first DeKalb County Courthouse was built in the city, as well as Sycamore's first hotel. A year later the settlement consisted of 12 houses, which increased to 18 by 1844. Sycamore then began an era of steady growth marked by population increases in 1848 to 262, 1849 to 320, 1850 to 390 and 1851 to 435. The Sycamore and Cortland Railroad arrived in the late 1850s and a station was erected in Sycamore. Sycamore was home to 41 commercial and industrial businesses by 1855. In 1858, Sycamore was incorporated as a village. Following the American Civil War the railroad began to assist Sycamore's growth and the settlement was incorporated as a city in 1869.