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A little about Fort Dodge
Fort Dodge began as a frontier outpost and blossomed when gypsum was discovered in the hills nearby. Today Fort Dodge is home to the arts and architecture made possible by the valuable mineral.
The history of Fort Dodge
Fort Dodge traces its beginnings to 1850 when soldiers from the United States Army erected a fort at the junction of the Des Moines River and Lizard Creek. It was named after Henry Dodge, a governor of Wisconsin Territory (which included Iowa at the time). The fort was abandoned in 1853 and the next year William Willams, a civilian storekeeper in Fort Dodge, purchased the land and buildings of the old fort. The town of Fort Dodge was founded in 1869. In 1872 the long and continuing history of gypsum production in Iowa started when George Ringland, Webb Vincent, and Stillman T. Meservey formed the Fort Dodge Plaster Mills to mine, grind, and prepare gypsum for commercial use. The Company constructed the first gypsum mill west of the Mississippi River, at the head of what is now Gypsum Creek.
Contact Information
Phone: (515) 955-5500
Email: info@greaterfortdodge.com
Address:
Fort Dodge, Iowa
50501
Where is Fort Dodge
View All CommunitiesBusinesses in Fort Dodge, Iowa
Here is a collection of local Fort Dodge, Iowa businesses. Clicking on the thumbnail image, or the blue "View Member" will take you to that businesses page. We've included some jump links so that you can easily navigate to different categories of businesses. Those, can be found directly below as icons. Or, there is a list of categories in the menu bar.
