History

1855 Settled by Messrs, Reed & Wright on the left side side of the Des Moines River. They set up the first steam mill. Sumner Township was established, which consisted of the current Lehigh & Burnside areas.
1857 The first Methodist church was built.
1858 Oliver Tyson bought the area and saw mill from Reed & Wright. He then named it Tyson's Mill and added a flouring mill. Later the name was changed to Vesper.
1859 First school was built (classes began in 1860).
1871 Tyson opened the first store in town.
1873 The first railroad through the town Crooked Creek Railroad was built from Judd (between present-day Fort Dodge & Duncombe) on the Illinois Central Railroad.
1876 Webster City Crooked Creek RR opened on east side of river, called Lackawanna (later changed to Slabtown).
1877 HW Rose opened the first hardware store.
1880 Vesper & Lackawanna (Slabtown) were combined into one town, present-day Lehigh.
1884 CS Hall & Sons opened the first private bank, Lehigh Valley Bank.
1907 Lehigh Sewer Pipe & Tile Co was built.

Did you know?

  • Lehigh is the only town in America that is separated by a river
  • Males outnumber females 250 to 227 (as of 2007)
  • Lehigh was named after Lehigh, PA