Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 3.djvu/537

 County along the Des Moines River and tributaries. Rev. John Johns was a famous hunter and pioneer preacher in that vicinity. Up to 1853 about one hundred fifty settlers had made homes along the river south of Fort Dodge.

In August, 1853, an election was held and the following county officers were chosen: William Pierce, judge; Tolman Woolsey, recorder and treasurer; Jesse Goodrich, clerk; J. Doty, sheriff, and John Tolman, school fund commissioner. A town was laid out on a beautiful prairie between the Des Moines and Boone rivers in the fall of 1853 named Homer which was made the first county-seat. There the first court was held in the fall of 1854 by Judge McFarland. Granville Berkley was the first postmaster at Homer, which made a rapid growth.

The old fort had been vacated by the soldiers in October, 1853, and Major William Williams had charge of the abandoned Government property. Soon after the land, which had been reserved for the post, was offered for sale and purchased by a syndicate at the head of which was Major Williams. In March, 1854, the survey and plat of the original town of Fort Dodge was completed, the survey having been made by S. C. Wood of Boone County. The syndicate consisted of Colonel Jesse Williams, John Lemp, Bernhart Henn and George Gillaspy and was known as the “Fort Dodge Land Company.” Major William Williams was the resident manager who made the purchase of the lands and caused the town of Fort Dodge to be laid out. A post-office was established and Major Williams was appointed postmaster. In 1855 a United States Land Office was established at Fort Dodge and the town became a competitor to Homer for the county-seat.

Among the earliest settlers at Fort Dodge were John F. Duncombe, John L. Cheyney, H. Beecher, H. A. Cramer, C. H. Vincent, W. O. Ruggles, E. G. Morgan, John Garrahty, Albert Morrison and Ezekiel Hinton. A plan was devised by citizens of Fort Dodge and Newcastle, on