TOWNS
Webster County administrative offices are located at 701 Central Avenue, Fort Dodge, IA 50501; phone: 515-573-7175.
Beginnings [1]
First settled about 1845, a military post (Fort Dodge) was established in 1850. The county was formed in 1852 by merging two former counties, Risley and Yell. It is named for statesman, Daniel Webster. The Fort Dodge post was abandoned in 1853 and the following year the City of Fort Dodge was platted. Fort Dodge was designated as the county seat, amid much controversy, in 1866. By 1900 Webster County had become Iowa's biggest producer of clay products — brick, tile, and stoneware crockery — and a leader in gypsum processing.