General+Grenville+Dodge

=Grenville Dodge: On the Rails=

Abaigh Plummer Junior Divison Individual Exhibit

__How I chose my topic__: I knew a lot about Grenville Dodge because I had visited his house many times, and I thought that he was a very interesting person. I wanted to learn more about him. Since I live in his hometown and home state, I knew I could get a lot of information. Plus, I already knew so much about him, and I knew that would help me along the way. __How I conducted my research__: I first went on the Internet and found some great secondary sources that told me so much about Grenville Dodge. Then, after getting a few websites, I started hitting the books. I first went to our public library and found a couple of books that gave me some information. Next, I went with the junior high group to the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines and looked in their library to find some primary resources. I also went to Iowa State University in Ames and found a book written by him. Last, I went to my school library and found another book written by him. I looked in all the books and found information about the railroads that he worked on. I put all my research into two piles: primary source information and secondary source information. __How I chose my project:__ I chose an exhibit because I have done something like that before, and it would be a little easier this time. Also, I knew that there are a lot of pictures of General Dodge that I could use for my display. __How I created my exhibit__: I first got my poster board. Then, I started typing up the words that I wanted to put on the board,and cutting the number count so I could only have 500 words on the board. After I got my words for the board, I started printing out pictures and started planning my board. When I thought that I had a pretty good layout for my exhibit, I put rubber cement to stick everything I had done to the board. __How my topic relates to the NHD topic__: General Dodge helped Council Bluffs get on the map because of the railroads that he helped build around there. General Dodge also was a big part in the Transcontinental Railroad that was known all around the country. Dodge also helped with other railroads around the country. He was known for all of his railroad history, so he was asked to run over a dozen of the railroads across the country.