When the Lincoln Highway was established in 1913 towns along the route were encouraged by the Lincoln Highway Association to rename the main street through their community. DeKalb was the first city in the nation to do so.

An arched monument, built by the Chamber of Commerce in the 1920s along the Lincoln Highway, had an inscription that read “DeKalb: A Live Wire City 10,000 Strong”, a reference to the important role barbed wire played in the city’s history.