This parsonage was in use until 1914 when it was sold and moved to the Third Avenue North location where it is now owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. C. P. McGrane. Removal of the house was made necessary to make way for the present First United Methodist Church which was dedicated in 1915. First Church now has its parsonage at 1211 N. 11th St. Mr. and Mrs. McGrane acquired the property at 1518 3rd Ave. N. in 1939 and have since resided there. It has been extensively remodeled and modernized and now has four rooms, bath and music room on the first floor and four bedrooms and bath on the second floor. The novel by Hartzell Spence tells of the wrecking of the old red brick church in 1914 and building of a tabernacle one block east of the church site where services were held until the new edifice was completed. Much of the book is devoted to the life of the Spence family in Fort Dodge, including many youthful events in Hartzell’s life told in a fictional vein. The Rev. Mr. Spence left Fort Dodge in 1917 to take over a church in Omaha. Later he had Methodist charges in Sioux City (Morningside College) and Mason City. THE COLBY HOME [Illustration: The Colby home 215 No. Fifteenth Street] One of Fort Dodge’s early-day residents, who for many years operated a widely-known livery business here, built the house pictured above in 1885. He was W. H. H. Colby who came to Fort Dodge in 1870 and established a livery and lumber business. Fifteen years later he erected the home at 215 N. 15th St. which is now owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Hilken and family. The Hilkens purchased the property in 1963 and reside there with their children, David, Janet and Danny. Hilken is employed at the Geo. A. Hormel & Co. plant. The one-story frame house faces the west and sets far back from Fifteenth Street. It has a living room, dining room, kitchen, three bedrooms, bath and a full basement. An open porch extends along two sides of the house. In past years the house has been remodeled and modernized. Colby was born in Vermont in 1840 and came to Wisconsin in 1859 where he operated a livery business in Sun Prairie. After 11 years there he and his family moved to Fort Dodge where he established his livery and lumber business. After a short time he quit the lumber business in order to devote full time to the livery and transfer business. Colby’s brother, Charles, was associated with him in the business under the name of W. H. H. Colby & Bros. The firm’s operations included livery, hacks, bus and baggage transfer line. Their horse-drawn vehicles met all the trains arriving at the various railroad depots in the city and carried passengers and baggage to hotels and homes. The Colbys erected a large brick building on the north side of the City Square where they carried on their extensive business. Their address was listed in old city directories as 426-428 Central Avenue.