The town of Correctionville was platted Sept. 25, 1855. The name "Correctionville" comes from the No. 2 Correction Line established by surveyors to correct for the curvature of the earth. The No. 2 runs from below Dubuque, on the Mississippi River, through Correctionville's east and west "main street," (now Fifth Street), to the Missouri River in Sioux City.
In 1855 the Little Sioux Valley at Correctionville had an ample supply of timber. The bluffs to the west were covered with a thick growth of oak, elm and maple while the land along the river had cottonwood, box-elder and other trees. However, in every direction from this immediate vicinity, the valley and bluffs were treeless, only covered by a sea of prairie grass.
Richard Auguste' Gendreau, known as the "Father of Correctionville," a French Canadian from Quebec, bought his quarter section (160 acres) in the northwest corner of Rock Township outright from the government for $1.25 an acre in 1857.
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In 1860 a stage line was established connecting Fort Dodge and Sioux City. Because of its location, Correctionville was found to be a convenient resting place for the night. The stagecoach was a major step forward as it carried the mail and most likely hastened the building of the first bridge across the Little Sioux River. School was held on a farm in 1859, but the first frame schoolhouse was built in Correctionville in 1860 on land donated by Richard Gendreau.
Because of the Indian scare in northwest Iowa, Captain Jerome White, with the help of the settlers and the men of Company E, began building Fort Correctionville in 1862. On April 17, 1862, Lt. Col. James A. Sawyers of the Northern Border Brigade sent Gov. Kirkwood the plans of Fort Correctionville, which had been built. The walls were 10 feet high and constructed of split logs set in a trench. The logs were split and set on end into a ditch with the curved side facing outward. Half logs covered the joints in the walls. The walls were 121 feet long and were covered with lime. The blockhouse in the fort was a two-story building. It was located in the southeast corner, although there is some dispute about its location. The second story was set crosswise on the first story and was 16-foot square. Loopholes were made in the walls to fire at the enemy.
Fort Correctionville never saw any battle, but it did serve to reassure the settlers and was the first shelter of the many new arrivals.
After the Indians had moved further west, the government no longer had a need for the fort so it was sold to Abe Bacon in 1867 and he was instructed to dismantle it, which he did.
Correctionville was incorporated on Dec. 25, 1882. The community will celebrate its Sesquicentennial on June 17-19, 2005.
