Hook's Point - This settlement originated when Isaac Hook and his brother, James, came to the area in 1851. One person, a family member, insists that they arrived in 1849. This date is given in a letter written by a descendent about 90 years later. The Hook family does not show up on the 1850 census in our area. They do appear on the 1850 Federal Census as residents of Lee County. Lee's 1912 History of Hamilton County, and Bessie Lyon's book Early Days in Hamilton County, Then and Now both give their arrival as 1851. At this time there were only two other settlements in the area, Homer and Fort Dodge. The settlement was located in SE/NE Sec. 6-89-26 in Marion Township.
Isaac Hook tried to name the town Marion City, but the local residents insisted on calling it Hook's Point. Early maps in 1857 and 1858 gave the name as Marion City.
Hook operated a hotel, which he called the Marion City Hotel, and a tavern. It was in this tavern that two residents argued over who owned how much of a common fence. Charles Gatchell, the larger, gave George Smith a pounding. As Smith turned to leave the tavern, he saw a loaded gun which had been left there. He stopped, picked it up,turned, and fired. Gatchell died about 25 minutes later. He was buried outside the cemetery, just north of the fence. This was the first murder in our county.
An 1869 pamphlet was published telling of the virtues of the area. Hook's Point was described in this way. "Until recently, Hook's Point was known as 'Ten Eyck Farm.' It has a population of 100, has a post office, two stores, a blacksmith shop, a sawmill, a grist mill, and a physician.
Hook's Point was located on a stage road connecting Montana and Fort Dodge. Eventually there will doubtless be a railroad running from Montana up the Des Moines River on the east side, which must of necessity pass through Hook's Point and Homer. This is all that either place needs to render it, a few years hence, a thriving and populous town." The town of Montana is now called Boone.
Fred Runkle, editor of the Stanhope Observer, had a plat map of Hook's Point showing 23 houses, several businesses including a brickyard, a sawmill, a wagon shop, a cheese factory, a drugstore, two saloons, three general stores, and a hotel. The railroad from Montana did not materialize; instead the railroad from Jewell Junction to Dayton spelled the death of Hook's Point.
All that remains today is the cemetery. It is interesting to note that Fred Runkle spearheaded a drive to purchase a three-foot strip of land north of the cemetery. Then the fence was moved north, so that Charles Gatchell's grave is now inside the cemetery.