“The town moved,” Stewart said.

The present-day Otho is not the first settlement to use that name in the land south of Fort Dodge along the Des Moines River.

But today’s Otho has a rich history, and it will celebrate its 125th anniversary Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The town’s history was compiled into a book in 1993 for its centennial, Stewart said. A large group of people came together to find photos and stories of the town’s past. The centennial committee on history also included Gladys Laird, Loren Miller, Euvon Miller, and Ruby Chase.

-Submitted photo
The Otho Mercantile, opened in the 1900s, is called the longest-running business in Otho by the town’s history book. For many years the post office was at the back of the store.

That book, and displays about the town, will be at the Webster County Museum over the weekend, in what was once Otho’s school.

Missy Ewing, president of the Otho Betterment Committee, is one of the members helping bring the celebration together.

Starting off with a Saucy Jack concert Friday night — tickets $15 at the gate — Saturday will be filled with events.

“We’re doing the softball tournament and the bags tournament both that day,” Ewing said. “Pretty much everything’s free except for the chili cookoff.”

Another unusual event will be the mullet contest, held at 1 p.m. Saturday.

-Submitted photo
The coal mine near Kalo, seen here in February 1895, was a major draw for settlers to the area, and contributed to the early growth of Otho.

“When they did the 100th, the centennial, they did the beard contest,” Ewing said. “We wanted to try to do something again along those lines, but a little bit different.”

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It was in 1893 when six acres of farm land owned by David and Isabella Fortney were platted for town lots. This was within the streets of North, Highway, South and Railroad, only a portion of today’s Otho.

But before Fortney’s land was platted, a settlement also called Otho had grown up farther south in 1857, nearer to today’s Dolliver Memorial State Park and the still existing Otho Cemetery, according to the written Otho history.

That was the location of the first Otho post office, established in 1858, and the first school in the township, built in 1857. It may have also been an overnight stagecoach stop, the writers of the history said, but they were unable to verify this.

-Messenger photo by Joe Sutter/Submitted photo
The Otho Methodist Church was dedicated in 1899. Over the years a basement has been added, as well as electric lights, running water, a new entrance and new rooms to the south of the sanctuary.

Before the town, Otho Township was established in 1857, named after King Otho I, an early king of Germany.

Why did Otho move? It may have been due to Kalo. In the 1870s and 1880s settlers were attracted to Kalo and the nearby Craig’s Hollow, located on the Des Moines River, where there were jobs in the coal mines nearby.

“With the advent of the railroad and the influx of the miners and their families into more substantial homes, the town grew in population and many business places were established,” wrote Clayton Fuller in a history of Kalo, quoted by the history of Otho.

The Otho Railway Station, found along Railroad Street in the modern-day Otho, was established in 1895.

Manufacture of clay products in Craig’s Hollow helped Otho to grow, the historians wrote. After the plant was started in 1890, it was sold in 1895 and became known as the Kalo Brick and Tile Co.

It grew to be the largest plant for clay products in Iowa, employing 65 to 100 people with an output of 50,000 tons of tile and brick annually, they wrote.

Horses were used for transportation in Otho’s early days. The streets in town were not paved, and sometimes were deep in mud, but the town was a trading center for people from miles around.

Some of Otho’s early businesses included a butcher shop, harness shop, lumber yard, coal office, general store, bank and hotel. The hotel eventually became a private home.

“I used to live in a house that was once the Otho hotel,” Stewart said. “I didn’t know it at the time.”

One of the oldest buildings in town is the Otho Savings Bank, which opened around 1912 in a brand new brick building on Main Street in the center of town.

The bank was open for about 15 years. Around 1929 it became a store, and was used as a chicken hatchery and feed mill in 1932.

In 1958 H.R. Dugger bought the former bank and opened Otho’s first tavern. Today, the building is still the Otho Tap.

A thriving mercantile store in town once offered local shopping, not just groceries but fresh meats, sewing materials, shoes and boots, school books, and other items.

When the mercantile expanded in the 1920s, a large community hall was built on the second floor with a stage at one end, and used for basketball practice, banquets, movies and church dinners.

In the early days, there were schoolhouses every two miles. The original brick schoolhouse was built in Otho in 1912, and by 1917 all the schools in Otho township were consolidated into one school system.

The largest graduating class was in 1955 with 24 graduates. The last graduating class was in 1960, after which high school students moved to the Fort Dodge district.

Schedule of events

Friday

7 to 10 p.m. — Saucy Jack concert in the park. Tickets available at the Otho Pub or O’Halloran International. $10 in advance; $15 at the gate; 12 and under are free. Coolers and lawn chairs welcome.

SATURDAY

7:30 a.m. — Softball tournament, sponsored by Otho Little League, contact Travis Roach to sign up: 515-570-9953

9 a.m. to 2 pm — Vendors in the park

9 a.m. — Cooking begins for Chili Cook-Off, sponsored by the Otho Betterment Committee, call or text Missy Ewing at 829-0561

10 a.m. — Bags tournament, sponsored by the Otho Fire Department, Linda Ewing at 570-4348 or on Facebook Otho Fire & Rescue

10 a.m. — Bill Riley Talent Show, on stage, sign up forms available at Otho City Hall or othobetterment@gmail.com

10 a.m. to noon — Kids games in the park, free

Noon — Little Mr. & Miss Contest

1 p.m. — Mullet contest, on stage, sign up at Betterment tent by noon

2 to 4 p.m. — Chili serving open to the public

2 to 5 pm — Car show, Webster County Museum and grass lot west of old school, sponsored by Otho Motorsports

3 p.m. — Magic Show in the park, sponsored by Otho Betterment

4:30 p.m. — Awards Ceremony for Chili Cook-Off, 50/50 drawing, raffle drawing for Trager Grill

6 p.m. — Live music by Kyle Stringer, freewill donation

SUNDAY

8:30 a.m. — Church in the park, bring your lawn chairs, sponsored by the Otho Methodist Church