Homestead Acts
The anticipated market included families headed west to begin a new life on homestead land offered by the U.S. government.(See Homestead Acts.) The Dempster Co. was located at the corner of Fourth and Court Streets. In 1884 brother A. R. Dempster joined the firm and in 1886 it moved to a new location on West Court Street, but frequent flooding from the Blue River necessitated a move in 1889 to its current location at 711 South Sixth Street. At its high point in 1918 the company had 500 employees.