Arabian Horses for Sale near Fort Dodge, IA

About Fort Dodge, IA

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 had included Iowa until Iowa became a state in 1846). 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.