Homer was at one time the largest town in all of Webster and Hamilton Counties combined. At its peak it had 600 residents. It was located in SW Sec. 6-87-26. The story of Homer's rise and fall is given in the Webster County and Hamilton County stories on the Hamilton County History Home Page.

Homer was named by Granville Burkley for the epic Greek poet. The town was laid out in 1852 just after Risley and Yell Counties were combined. This put Homer in the center of the large new Webster County. A stage line started service between Boonesboro in Boone County to Fort Dodge in Webster County, passing through Hook's Point, Homer, Border Plains, and Brushy, before arriving in Fort Dodge.

The original Homer plat showed 42 blocks with streets from the north of First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth. The south edge of the plat had no street, but today it is the blacktop south of Homer. The north-south streets were named Walnut, Water, Main, Washington, and Chestnut.

The present Methodist Church is located at the corner of Fourth and Main Streets. A Christian Church was located at the south end of Main and was, for a long time, used as a gas station. Homer also had a third church in its early history; a Campbellite Church. It's exact location has been lost.

In February, 1856, an addition was put on the north edge; these streets were named Broadway, Clinton, De Wit, and Wayne. Homer's hopes for a railroad, and possible continued existence were raised when talk of a railroad between Boone and Webster City surfaced. A branch going to Homer was discussed. It was to be called the Graham-Crosby spur, but it never got past the planning stage. The post office was closed on Sept. 30, 1913. Today all that remains of Homer is the Homer Methodist Church, the Lamb Small Engine business, and a house and mobile home.

Hook's Point - This settlement originated when Isaac Hook and his brother, James, came to the area in 1851. One person, a family member, insists that they arrived in 1849. This date is given in a letter written by a descendent about 90 years later. The Hook family does not show up on the 1850 census in our area. They do appear on the 1850 Federal Census as residents of Lee County. Lee's 1912 History of Hamilton County, and Bessie Lyon's book Early Days in Hamilton County, Then and Now both give their arrival as 1851. At this time there were only two other settlements in the area, Homer and Fort Dodge. The settlement was located in SE/NE Sec. 6-89-26 in Marion Township. Isaac Hook tried to name the town Marion City, but the local residents insisted on calling it Hook's Point. Early maps in 1857 and 1858 gave the name as Marion City. Hook operated a hotel, which he called the Marion City Hotel, and a tavern. It was in this tavern that two residents argued over who owned how much of a common fence. Charles Gatchell, the larger, gave George Smith a pounding. As Smith turned to leave the tavern, he saw a loaded gun which had been left there. He stopped, picked it up,turned, and fired. Gatchell died about 25 minutes later. He was buried outside the cemetery, just north of the fence. This was the first murder in our county. An 1869 pamphlet was published telling of the virtues of the area. Hook's Point was described in this way. "Until recently, Hook's Point was known as 'Ten Eyck Farm.' It has a population of 100, has a post office, two stores, a blacksmith shop, a sawmill, a grist mill, and a physician. It is located on a stage road connecting Montana and Fort Dodge. Eventually there will doubtless be a railroad running from Montana up the Des Moines River on the east side, which must of necessity pass through Hook's Point and Homer. This is all that either place needs to render it, a few years hence, a thriving and populous town." The town of Montana is now called Boone. Fred Runkle, editor of the Stanhope Observer, had a plat map of Hook's Point showing 23 houses, several businesses including a brickyard, a sawmill, a wagon shop, a cheese factory, a drugstore, two saloons, three general stores, and a hotel. The railroad from Montana did not materialize; instead the railroad from Jewell Junction to Dayton spelled the death of Hook's Point. All that remains today is the cemetery. It is interesting to note that Fred Runkle spearheaded a drive to purchase a three-foot strip of land north of the cemetery. Then the fence was moved north, so that Charles Gatchell's grave is now inside the cemetery.

Hope Hollow - This settlement was the first stopping place for Wilson Brewer and his family as they moved up the Boone River in 1850. Its approximate location was in SW Sec. 31-88-25 of what is now called Independence Township. He wintered here and named the area Hope Hollow because he and his family hoped for a better life in Iowa. With Brewer were his nephew, William Brewer, and William Stanley and his family. Brewer staked out a claim just south of what was later called Bone's Mill, but he soon sold out to his nephew and continued upstream the next spring to found Newcastle and become the first settler in what we now call Webster City.