Colton


 * General Greville M. Dodge**

WOW!~ You've got my attention!!! You will need lots of supportive details to make this a powerhouse speech! Mrs. Kenkel
 * discovered great railroad pass in the Indian War
 * opened the first bank in Iowa
 * leader of Iowa's first militia
 * helped repair damaged structures in the Civil War
 * served a term in Congress
 * met Lincoln in Council Bluffs, Iowa
 * 4 years later Council Bluffs, Iowa became the start of the Union Pacific Railroad
 * record holder for the most pieces of railroad track laid by a single American
 * named 5 cities in Nebraska
 * Lincoln raised him from a common citizen to the highest rank in the Army
 * quote " U. S. Grant is the best statesman the world has produced "
 * full name: General Grenville Mellon Dodge
 * he had a secret scam called Credit Mobilier!


 * General Grenville Mellon Dodge

Who started the Union Pacific Railroad? Who met Lincoln in Council Bluffs, IA? Who was a Civil War hero? Who did a lot to help the country by doing these things? Why, it's none other than our own General Grenville Mellon Dodge!

Let me start by telling you what most people know about him. It all started when he found a great place for railroad tracks in the Indian War. After the war, he moved to Council Bluffs, where he later found his friend Abe Lincoln [before THE Civil War]. They went to the Dodge House [now a museum] and discussed where to put the Union Pacific Railroad. Dodge suggested between Council Bluffs, Iowa and Promontory Point, Utah. Lincoln agreed and Dodge began to work on the railroad. In doing so he won some awards, including the Guinness World Record for the most tracks placed by an American.

He also did a lot to help the Midwest as well. He was the one to start the first bank in Iowa. He also was the leader of Iowa's first militia. In Nebraska, he named 5 cities. He served a term in Congress for Iowa. Now let me talk about the chaos that was the Civil War.

At first he was a common foot soldier, but that quickly changed because of his skill and ability to repair damaged structures. After the war he said [quote] " Commander Ulysess S. Grant is the best statesman the world has produced " [unquote]

When Dodge died in 1916, he left a trust to be activated twenty-one years after the death of his grandchildren. It was to be used for charities. In 1987 it was revealed that it had $1 million. More than $400,000 has since been given to charities and the fund was valued at $1,600,000 in June 1996. **


 * The famed Western frontier town Dodge City, Kansas, was named in his honor. Although Dodge Street in Omaha, Nebraska, the former location of Union Pacific Headquarters, is often said to have been named after him the street was actually named for influential (and unrelated) Iowa Senator Augustus Dodge **.


 * As you can see, Dodge was a great man. Whether it was helping his state grow, building a way of transportation, or serving his country, always did what he thought was best. Or did he?

Dodge was part of a secret scandal called the Credit [accent"e"]Mobilier, a scam to get stock money. He helped by purchasing stocks in his wife's name, so when the police came, he blamed his wife. But when he realized that the scandal could not work, he went to Texas while the others got arrested.

Towards the end of his life he built himself a house. It was a grand Victorian home at 605 Third Street in Council Bluffs. It has 14 rooms and it overlooks the Missouri River. The home has parquet floors, cherry, walnut, and butternut woodwork and the most modern conveniences of the day. The home is now a National Historic Landmark. He spent three years in the house. It cost $35,000 to build the house, which was a lot of money back then!

Few Iowans had a greater impact on the United States, Iowa, and particularly Council Bluffs, than Grenville Dodge, a person who, for the most part, did what he thought was the bes t for the country. He is best remembered as the architect of the Union Pacific Transcontinental Railroad. **