The city is famous for being the site of a July 23, 1933, shootout between members of the Barrow gang and police from as far away as Des Moines.
On September 18, 1948, Dexter was the site of a national plowing match at which President Harry Truman delivered a speech attacking the 80th Congress for its record in regard to the American farmer. This speech is considered one of the most important of his 1948 Whistle Stop campaign that turned the tide of the election and returned him to the White House.
Passages that mention Dexter, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Dallas County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. ..1879 · page 515Read the page →
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There are also several other smaller county bridges in the township spanning Bear creek and the North river near Dexter. This township now has nine school-houses, and as many sub-districts, besides the graded and public schools in the different towns, the Bear Creek Academy, and the large Normal school-building now being erected at Dexter.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The History of Dallas County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. ..1879 · page 467Read the page →
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"About the 25th of August J. C. Allen built the red warehouse, now owned by D. A. Burrows. The lumber in it was the first shipped into Dexter by railroad. This building was used by the railroad company as a depot until the present depot was built, when J. C. Allen used it as a grain warehouse, where he bought and shipped the first car load of grain that was ever shipped from Dexter. There was no grain but wheat to ship then, as corn had to be brought from further east to use here.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Dexter, 1868 to 1976
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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