In 1778, Dod accepted a ministerial call from two congregations in present-day Washington County, Pennsylvania: Lindley's Fort at Lower Ten Mile near (now Amwell Township, Pennsylvania) and Cook's Fort at Upper Ten Mile (). He was the second minister to settle west of the Monongahela River and the first to establish a Presbytery west of the Allegheny Mountains. His family remained in Patterson Creek for two years before moving into a log cabin near his congregations. Dod's home was in a dangerous location near Fort Henry, perched on a steep rise with wooded valleys on either side. His home, log school, and churches were often subject to attacks from local Indian populations.