Meade was named after General George Gorden Meade. He led the Union Army of
the Potomac during the Civil War. The first settlement in what was to become
Meade County was made in 1878. Many settlers came in 1884 through 1886 when the
area was being promoted.
Meade Center was orginated as a town on July 9, 1885 by the Meade Center Townsite
company who had purchased 520 acres from the government. For this they paid $650.00.
In the same year the original town site was surveyed and by November 1885, the city
was incorporated and organized.
The name Meade Center was changed to Meade in 1889. In 1887, the artesian wells in
the valley North of Meade were discovered and with pure water, fertile soil deposits
of iron ore, peat, salt, silca, oil, and gas. The development of Meade County has
progressed since that time. The city has two major tourist attractions,
Dalton Gang Hideout and Meade County Historical Society Museum. |
