Located near the geographic center of Dekalb County on Elva Road is the tiny village of Elva. The land that Elva was built on was owned by Joseph F. Glidden, inventor of barbed wire, and the town was named for his daughter Elva Glidden Bush. It was founded after the Northern Illinois Railroad was built, but today it has shrunk in size. The most noticeable feature of Elva today is what looks like an early grain elevator along the railroad. It looks as if it was made of nine tile silos stacked together with something that almost looks like a barn on top. You can also see another building that looks like it was a train station that residents would use if they wanted to go to nearby Dekalb.
To explore other communities in Dekalb County, click here.