Second and Euclid is the home of Park Fair Mall, but it was once the site of an interesting piece of Des Moines educational history. Highland Park College, Des Moines University, and the University of…

From the late nineteenth century through the 1930s Iowa had a thriving automotive industry, and automobiles were designed and manufactured in its capital city by several companies. From early electric…

On August 29, 1866, the Valley railroad entered Des Moines after 12 years of work.  The first train that entered left from Keokuk at 7:30 a.m. and arrived in Des Moines a few minutes before 3:00 p.m.…

The S.S. Brinsmaid house was the earliest known Prairie Style house in Iowa. It was designed by architect Arthur A. Heun and built in 1901 on the northeast corner of 36th and Grand. Heun is known for…

Benjamin Franklin Allen and his wife Arathusa celebrated the completion of Terrace Hill on their fifteenth wedding anniversary, January 29, 1869. The home was designed by W.W. Boyington from Chicago,…

William Wirt Witmer grew up the 12th of 13 children on Pennsylvania farm. He attended school at Gettysburg College, leaving it to enlist in the 104th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. After being…

1901 Construction begins on the 400-acre base Fort Des Moines on Des Moines’ South Side.1903-1904 Two companies of the all-black U.S. Army 25th Infantry surprise Des Moines’ local citizens by arriving…

Emma Ferrington inherited Reliable Rug Factory from her deceased husband Warren E. Ferrington in 1890 and quickly expanded services and products. You can still see the remaining building on Keo Way.…

Open air schools in the United States started in 1908 but closed down by 1941. Children who attended usually suffered from tuberculosis (TB). Most people with TB were treated in sanitariums, but this…

Ronald (Dutch) Reagan, movie star, governor of California, and president of the United States from 1981-1988, lived in Des Moines for a time in the 1930s, when he worked as a sports announcer for WHO…