Born October 5, 1866 in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, John M. Dodd was orphaned in childhood and worked as a carpenter and school teacher in Greene County, Pennsylvania to earn money for enrollment in 1887 at Starling Medical College, the forerunner of the school of medicine at Ohio State University. He married Missouri Stoops from the Waynesburg area in 1889, his final year of medical training. Upon completing this training, Dodd complied with the request of an old friend, Ashland physician W. T. Rhinehart, and established his first medical practice in Ashland, Wisconsin.
Dr. Dodd spent the rest of his life in Ashland becoming one of its most prominent citizens. He served as Ashland mayor during 1911-1913 and 1933-1939. He served as president of the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the Northwest Railroad and Soo Line Surgical Associations and was a founder of Ashland General Hospital. Dr. Dodd was also a founder of Northland College and held the office of president of the board of trustees. During World War I he served as a major in the Army Reserve Corps and as a medical adviser to local draft boards. During World War II he spent several summers in Alaska as a doctor for a canning company.
Active in civic groups, Dr. Dodd was a Mason, Elk, member of I.O.O.F., and a Rotarian. In 1906, he helped plan and direct the construction of an Elk clubhouse in Ashland. (An appendix to this finding aid lists newspaper articles with further information on Dr. Dodd.)
Dr. Dodd was awarded national recognition in Who's Who in America and published an autobiography entitled The Autobiography of a Surgeon. He died in Ashland on August 5, 1950.
