It will be remembered that it was in early March of 1857 that a band of Sioux Indians under Chief Inkpaduta massacred all the settlers, some forty in all, living in Dickinson County, except four women that they took captive.
In the fall of 1856, three brothers-in-law, O.C. Howe, B. F. Parmenter, and R.U. Wheelock, visited the lake region and being much impressed with the territory conceived the idea of acquiring the land, laying out a town, organizing the county, establishing the county seat in said town and securing claims on the adjoining land for themselves. They determined to return to the lake region and make permanent settlement in the spring.
They returned in March 1857 just in time to discover the entire settlement had been wiped out by the bloody massacre. They hastened back to Fort Dodge with the news of the massacre. Upon their arrival at Fort Dodge, a relief force of about 100 men was organized to proceed to the lakes to bury the dead, relieve the living if any were found and if possible overtake the savages who had destroyed the settlement. Howe, Parmenter and Wheelock joined this expedition.
After the completion of the expedition, Howe, Parmenter, and Wheelock again returned to the lakes for settlement. After exploring the land available, they selected the site where the city of Spirit Lake now stands. This was in June, 1857. In addition to the above three, George E Spencer was one of the original proprietors of Spirit Lake City as it was then called. Dr. J.S. Prescott afterwards bought an undivided 1/5th interest in it, giving one thousand dollars for it.
One of the results of the periodical Indian scares was the building of the old fort. After the site for the town was selected, a building was erected which was intended to be a general headquarters in case of trouble. In addition to the old Fort, three or four houses were built on the town site in the summer of 1857, the first one being built by O.C. Howe.
Just a few months after the massacre, on the first Tuesday, of August 1857, an election was held organizing the county. In 1879, the town was incorporated
The anticipation and arrival of the railroads caused a rapid increase in the population. The first census of 1880 showed a population of the town to be 277. By the census of 1885, the population was shown to be 751 and by 1890, the population was 782.
Spirit Lake has continued to grow throughout the years. The 2000 census reflected a population of 4,261; and the 2002 population census reflects steady growth of 4,368.
Throughout the years, it has taken many generations of people to build the community of Spirit Lake into the fine place in which we now live and enjoy. |
