Ozawkie (also spelled Osawkie), a village of Jefferson county, is located in Ozawkie township on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 8 miles west of Oskaloosa, the county seat. It is on the Delaware river and is the oldest town of the county, having important historical connection with the territorial period of the state. It was the county seat until Oct., 1858. The first settlement was made in the spring of 1854, when the Dyer brothers opened a store and started a trading post on the old military road. During that same year William O. and H. B. Tebbs. R. McCauslin and Norris S. Knight came with their families. The next year the town was laid out and the sale of lots began, although it was more than two years before the lands were to be sold by the government and clear titles could not be given. A sawmill and a number of business buildings of pretentious size were erected. A hotel was put up at a cost of several thousand dollars, in anticipation of the sale of lands, which it was hoped would make Ozawkie one of the leading cities of the territory. When the sale of lands was on thousands of people came to Ozawkie temporarily, and the big hotel and all the houses were filled, with many camping about on the prairies. Town lots sold for fabulously high prices and everything was booming. This gradually wore off and when the county seat was taken to Oskaloosa, Ozawkie's race was run, so far as being a city was concerned. At present it is just a prosperous little village, shipping farm produce and cattle to the markets. It has banking facilities and all the leading business activities are represented. It also has a money order postoffice with three rural routes, express and telegraph offices, and in 1910 reported a population of 300.