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Dickinson County History and Information

VEIW FULL SIZED D.O.T. COUNTY MAP

Dickinson was created on January 15, 1851 (Organized in 1857) from Unorganized Territory. The County was named for Daniel Stevens Dickinson, an United States senator from New York. The County Seat is Spirit Lake.

Counties adjacent to Dickinson County are Jackson County, Minnesota (north), Emmet County (east), Clay County (south), Osceola County (west). Cities and Towns Include Arnolds Park, Lake Park, Milford, Okoboji, Orleans, Spirit Lake, Superior, Terril, Wahpeton, West Okoboji.

Dickinson County, the smallest county in land area, is named in honor of Daniel S. Dickinson, a lawyer and senator from New York.

In the summer of 1856 Rowland Gardner came from Cerro Gordo County to settle. He and his family erected cabins, which came to be known as Gardner's Grove. Soon after many families started to settle in the area. But by the end of the year the population was only 40 residents, half of that being children.

In the winter of 1856-1857 a renegade band of Sioux Indians attacked the settlers around the lake, killing all but four women. Later, two of the four women were murdered and the remaining two were rescued. For six days the ravaging and pillaging of settlements and killing of livestock continued. Word of the "Spirit Lake Massacre" finally reached Fort Dodge. An expedition was launched to pursue the Indians, but the main job turned out to be burying the dead.

Following the massacre there was a large increase in settlers, especially in the summer. This second wave of pioneers organized the county for independence. A petition was sent to the judge in Woodbury County, a seven-day journey by horseback, asking for a separate organization. An election was held calling for county officials, and on August 4, 1857 Dickinson County was formed and in 1858 the county originated.

The first courthouse was built in Spirit Lake. It was begun in 1859 and partially finished in 1860. In 1860 it was used as a barracks for Civil War troops and was completed in 1868. This building was destroyed by fire in 1872.

A second courthouse was constructed using the salvageable bricks of the first courthouse, but it was soon deemed unsatisfactory and condemned in 1880.

In September 1889 a $15,000 bond issue was proposed for the construction of a new courthouse. It was passed by a large majority. Construction of the third courthouse began on October 4, 1890 and was completed in 1891. Since its completion the building has seen three additions, one in 1957 and two more in 1976 and 1978. The funding for these additions came from the Federal Revenue Sharing fund. See also County History for more details.

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Records at the Dickinson County Courthouse

Dickinson County Vital Records

Dickinson County Census Records

Dickinson County Maps & Atlases

Dickinson County Military Records

Dickinson County Tax Records

Dickinson County Genealogical Addresses

Dickinson County Church & Cemeteries

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County History

From the A.T. Andreas Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa, 1875

This is the third county from the west line of the state in the north tier, and was named in honor of D. S. Dickinson of New York. It is twenty-four miles east and west, by seventeen north and south, and therefore embraces a superficial area of four hundred and eight square miles. This is the most elevated county in the state, as it lies on the Great Watershed, and is drained by the upper branches of the Little Sioux River, one branch having its source in Minnesota. The two largest lakes in the state are located in this county, to wit, Spirit and Okoboji. Spirit Lake (or Minne-Waukon, as the Dakotas called it) embraces about twelve square miles of surface, its width and length being nearly equal, while its northern border rests directly on the northern boundary of the state. The shores are gravelly, and on the north and west banks are considerable bodies of timber. Okoboji Lake lies directly south of Spirit Lake, and is connected with it by an outlet, its surface being about six feet below that of Spirit Lake. Okoboji Lake extends about five miles southward from the point nearest Spirit Lake, then turns westward about the same distance, and then northward again nearly five miles, so that the entire length, in all its bendings, is about fifteen miles. The eastern area of this lake is comparatively narrow, and at the point where it turns westward it is so narrow as to be easily bridged. West of this lies the main body of the lake, which the Indians called Minnetonka, meaning "great water," in the Sioux dialect. This lake, with its surroundings, is the most beautiful and attractive in Iowa, having a clean, gravelly beach, clear water, and is bordered by fine groves of native timber. West of Spirit, and north of Okoboji Lakes, there are some smaller ones resting in depressions, several of which are beautiful little sheets of water. Surrounding them are some irregular elevations, the highest point being eighty feet above the surface of Spirit Lake, which is believed to be the most elevated point of land in the state. The outlet of Lake Okoboji is a stream about five miles in length, with a rapid fall, and flows into Little Sioux River. This outlet affords excellent and reliable power for machinery.

The general character of the surface is undulatory, largely prairie, which has a good soil of dark loam and exhaustless fertility, well adapted to the growth of all kinds of grain, vegetables, and grasses cultivated in Northern Iowa. It is also a good stock raising county, as there is an abundance of pure water and nutritious grass, combined with shelter in the groves about the lakes. No exposures of stratified rock in place has been found in the county. On the shores of the lakes there are large deposits of drift boulders, principally granite and red quartzite, with occasionally a magnesian limestone. Although, as stated, this county lies upon the Great Watershed, and is the highest land in the state, there is nowhere any difficulty in obtaining excellent water at a depth of a few feet below the surface. Fuel is obtained from the groves about the lakes, which are supplied with a variety of excellent fish.

This attractive portion of Northwestern Iowa secured the attention of settlers as early as 1856, at which time a number of families settled around the shores of Spirit and Okoboji Lakes, and about the headwaters of Little Sioux River. Roving bands of the Sioux Indians still lingered in this region, occasionally committing petty depredations upon the property of the settlers, and upon hunters and trappers who happened to come within their power. Finally, on the 8th or 9th of March, 1857, they committed the horrible murders and outrages which annihilated the population of the county, making an indiscriminate slaughter of men, women and children. There was at this time a small settlement at a place called Springfield, on the Des Moines River, in Minnesota, eight miles north of the Iowa line, but there was such a heavy snow on the ground as to render it almost impossible for the sparse settlements in this region to communicate with each other. The sufferers and victims in Dickinson County were the following;

Mr. Gardner, his wife and son all killed, and a daughter fifteen years of age taken captive. Mr. Luce, a son-in-law of Mr. Gardner, his wife and two children, all killed. Mr. Mattocks, his wife and five children, all killed; also a Mr. Matteson, who lived with the family. Mr. Howe and four children, all killed; also Mr. Noble, who lived in the family; Mrs. Howe and a Mrs. Thatcher of this family were taken captives, and subsequently killed by the Indians. Mr. Marble and child killed, and his wife taken captive. Three men named Granger, Snyder and Harriott, were also killed. Mrs. Marble and Miss Garner who were taken captive, were some months after purchased through the intervention of some friendly Indians. These comprise probably all the families who resided in the county at this time. At the lakes and at Springfield, forty-one persons were killed outright, three wounded and four captured, while twelve other persons were missing, and the remains of several afterward found. Some of the bodies were burned in the houses fired by the Indians. They killed all the cattle of the settlers and destroyed their household goods, burning most of the cabins. As soon as the news of this massacre reached Fort Dodge, then the nearest considerable settlement, an expedition was organized under Major Williams, to proceed to the scene of the massacre. After much difficulty on account of the severe weather and deep snow, they arrived at Emmet in Emmet County, where they learned that the Indians had left the country, and this it was not necessary for the entire command to go over to the lakes. Twenty-two persons under the command of Captain J. C. Johnston, went over and buried the dead, and on their return Captain Johnston and Wm. Burkholder were frozen to death. The same season, and soon after the massacre, other settlers began to take the place made vacant by savage barbarity around the shores of these beautiful lakes, among whom were R. A. Smith, J. S. Prescott, W. B. Brown, C. F. Hill, Moses Miller, C. W. Furber, B. F. Parmenter, R. M. Wheelock, M. A. Blanchard, O. C. Howe, William Lamont, Morris Markham, Henry Barkman and George E. Spencer. Morris Markham was a trapper, and lived in the family of J. M. Thatcher previous to the massacre; but at that time, he and Mr. Thatcher both happened to be absent, and thus escaped the fate of the other settlers.

Dickinson County Courthouse

Construction of Dickinson's first courthouse began in 1859 but not completed until 1868. The courthouse was used as protection and shelter against Indian attacks. Troops eventually arrived and they used the courthouse as quarters until 1865. Work had to be done on the building after the troops left. The courthouse was completely finished in 1868. In November of 1871, the old courthouse and some of the county records were destroyed in a fire.

The second courthouse was built from the bricks used in the first courthouse. This building was used until it was condemned in the late 1880's.

The present courthouse was completed in 1891 at a cost of almost $15,000. The concrete in the foundation of this courthouse was made from the bricks of the first and second buildings. A new addition, including a jail, was built in 1957.

Dickinson County History and Information

Records at the Dickinson County Courthouse

See Also Iowa Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

Dickinson County Vital Records

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Dickinson County Census Records

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Dickinson County Maps & Atlases

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Dickinson County Military Records

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Dickinson County Tax Records

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Dickinson County Genealogical Addresses

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Dickinson County Church & Cemeteries

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Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits