Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 3.djvu/541

 county was the Iowa Falls and Sioux City which reached Fort Dodge in May, 1869. In Webster County are found extensive deposits of gypsum and its manufacture into stucco is one of the most important industries in the State. A history of the establishment of a military post at Fort Dodge is given elsewhere. WINNEBAGO COUNTY lies on the Minnesota line about midway between the east and west boundaries of the State. It was at one time a part of the old county of Fayette but in 1851 was created by act of the General Assembly with present boundaries and named for the Indian tribe that at one time occupied a portion of northern Iowa. The county contains nearly twelve congressional townships, making an area of four hundred three square miles and was at different times attached to the counties of Polk, Boone and Webster.

The first white settler within the limits of Winnebago was George W. Thomas who, early in 1855, took a claim and opened a farm at Rice Lake. On the 27th of September of the same year John Mabin made a claim on the east side of Lime Creek where Forest City stands. P. Tennis, J. Gilchrist and J. C. Bonar arrived during the summer of 1856 and Robert Clark, John S. Blowers, A. T. Cole, Henry Allen, J. L. Hitt and others settled in the southern part of the county with their families. In the fall of the same year Samuel Tennis, Archibald Murray and William Gilbert made homes in the northern part of the county. In 1857 several Norwegian families arrived and from year to year many of their countrymen joined them, making a large settlement of that nationality. Most of the early settlers made their homes in the groves along Lime Creek which were numerous and abounded in game. This stream is a tributary of Shellrock River and affords good water power. Twin Lakes and Rice Lake in the eastern part of the county are clear and beautiful sheets