William Earle Dodge (1805-1883), a New York businessman, provided the name for Dodge County. A consortium of businessmen led by Dodge purchased large tracts of timberland in this area following the Civil War. They built the Macon and Brunswick Railroad, connecting Macon to what was then a remote area of the state.

Dodge County was formed in 1870 and Eastman, the county seat, grew into a town at Station Number 13 on the railroad. Mr. Dodge visited the area only one time, to dedicate a two-story wooden courthouse that he donated to the county.

Mr. Dodge was referred to as one of the "Merchant Princes" of Wall Street in the years leading up to the Civil War. His sons later administered the timber businesses in this area. The Dodge Company's ownership of these lands caused great legal difficulties and resulted in nearly fifty years of court cases and several murders. These land wars are treated in the novel Lightwood by Brainard Cheney.

Dodge also served in the U.S. Congress and was a founding member of the YWCA. He was also a noted Temperance Union advocate.