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Fort Dodge

Fort Dodge, Iowa
City
Central Avenue
Central Avenue
Official seal of Fort Dodge, Iowa
Seal
Motto: Frontier of the Future
Location in the State of Iowa
Location in the State of Iowa
Coordinates: 42°30′24″N 94°10′49″W / 42.50667°N 94.18028°W / 42.50667; -94.18028Coordinates: 42°30′24″N 94°10′49″W / 42.50667°N 94.18028°W / 42.50667; -94.18028
Country United States
State  Iowa
County Webster
Incorporated 1869
Government
 • Mayor Matt Bemrich
 • City Manager David Fierke
Area
 • Total 16.31 sq mi (42.24 km2)
 • Land 16.05 sq mi (41.57 km2)
 • Water 0.26 sq mi (0.67 km2)
Elevation 1,155 ft (352 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 25,206
 • Estimate (2012) 24,751
 • Density 1,570.5/sq mi (606.4/km2)
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 50501
Area code(s) 515
FIPS code 19-28515
GNIS feature ID 0456686
Website www.fortdodgeiowa.org

Fort Dodge is a city in and the county seat of Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 25,206 in the 2010 census, an increase from 25,136 in the 2000 census. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Central and Northwest Iowa. It is located on U.S. Routes 20 and 169.

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 originally named Fort Clarke but was renamed Fort Dodge because there was another fort with the same name in Texas. It was named after Henry Dodge, a governor of Wisconsin Territory (which included Iowa at the time). The fort was abandoned by the Army in 1853.

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 known as Gypsum Creek.

Fort Dodge is located at 42°30′25″N 94°10′50″W / 42.50694°N 94.18056°W / 42.50694; -94.18056 (42.506803, −94.180271), on the Des Moines River.


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