Timeline of Des Moines, Iowa explained

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Des Moines, Iowa, US.

19th century

• 1843 - Fort Des Moines U.S. Army post established.
• 1846
  • Fort Des Moines becomes seat of Polk County.
  • Subscription schools open "in cabins along Raccoon Row."^[1]
• 1848 - Woodland Cemetery established as Fort Des Moines Cemetery^[2]
• 1849 - Iowa Star newspaper begins publication.
• 1850 - Population: 502
• 1851
  • Flood of 1851.
  • September 22: Town incorporated.
• 1853 - Benjamin Luce elected mayor.
• 1854 - Western Stage Company begins operating.
• 1855 - Brass Band formed.
• 1856 - Iowa Weekly Citizen newspaper begins publication.^[3]
• 1857
  • Iowa state capital relocated to Des Moines from Iowa City.
  • City chartered.
• 1858 - Bridge built over Des Moines River at Court Avenue.
• 1860 - Population: 3,965
• 1861 - Western Union Telegraph begins operating.
• 1865 - Hook and Ladder fire company organized.
• 1866
  • August: Railroad begins operating.
  • Des Moines Library Association organized.
• 1867
  • April: Flood.
  • State Arsenal built.
• 1870
  • Polk County Woman's Suffrage Association organized.
  • Capital City Nurseries in business.
  • Population: 12,035
• 1872 - Caledonian Club organized.
• 1874 - Younker Brothers Department Store in business.
• 1875 - June: State Republican Convention held.
• 1878 - Cottage Hospital opens.
• 1880 - Populatiton: 22,408
• 1881 - Drake University established.
• 1883 - Foster Opera House built.
• 1884 - Capital City commercial college founded.
• 1885 - Des Moines Women's Club founded.^[4]
• 1886 - Iowa State Capitol built.
• 1888 - William Lytle Carpenter elected mayor.
• 1889 - Des Moines Zoological Gardens opens.^[5]
• 1890
  • Highland Park College founded.
  • Population: 50,093.
• 1893 - Sisters of Mercy from Davenport, Iowa open first hospital in Des Moines. Begin in temporary quarters at Hoyt Sherman Place. First permanent hospital opened at 4th and Ascension Streets, north of downtown, in 1895
• 1895
  • Grand View College founded.
  • Young Women's Christian Association founded.
• 1896 - Women's Press Club^[6] and Proteus Club^[7] founded.
• 1898 - S.S. Still College of Osteopathy founded.
• 1900 - Population: 62,139.

20th century

• 1901 - Fort Des Moines re-established.
• 1902 - Register and Leader newspaper in publication.
• 1904 - George W. Mattern, Republican, was elected mayor of Des Moines (March 28) over W. L. Carpenter, Democrat^[8]
• 1906 - Polk County Courthouse and The Lexington (apartment building) constructed.
• 1907 - New city charter and plan adopted.
• 1910
  • Hotel Cargill in business.^[9]
  • Population: 86,368.
• 1914 - Billy Robinson flies from Des Moines to Kentland, Indiana.^[10]
• 1915 - Riverview Park (amusement park) opens.
• 1917 - Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School active.
• 1918 - 1918 influenza epidemic.^[11]
• 1920
  • Des Moines League of Women Voters founded.
  • Population: 126,468
• 1923
  • Ground-breaking for Salisbury House; property completed in 1928
  • Hoyt Sherman Place Theatre built.^[12]
• 1924 - Equitable Building constructed.
• 1930 - Population: 142,559
• 1931 - Allen Hazen Water Tower built.
• 1933 - Des Moines Airport built.
• 1934 - September: Labor strike.
• 1935 - Iowa Taxpayers Association headquartered in Des Moines.^[13]
• 1940 - Population: 159,819
• 1950 - Population: 177,965
• 1955 - Veterans Memorial Auditorium opens.
• 1958 - Sister city relationship established with Kofu, Japan.^[14]
• 1959 - Merle Hay Mall in business.
• 1960 - Population: 208,982
• 1965 - Iowa Genealogical Society founded.^[15]
• 1966 - Blank Park Zoo opens.
• 1970 - Population: 201,404
• 1972 - Gateway Dance Theatre founded.
• 1973 - Financial Center built.
• 1975 - Ruan Center built.
• 1978 - Fire in Merle Hay Mall.
• 1980 - Population: 191,003
• 1981 - Des Moines Marriott Hotel built.
• 1983 - Des Moines Rowing Club organized.^[16]
• 1985
  • Sister city relationships established with Shijiazhuang, China and Saint-Étienne, France.
  • Plaza Building constructed.
• 1986 - HUB Tower built.
• 1990 - Population: 193,187
• 1991 - 801 Grand built.
• 1992
  • Sister city relationship established with Stavropol, Russia.
  • Sec Taylor Stadium (now known as Principal Park) opens
• 1994 - Iowa Barnstormers begin play
• 1997
  • Preston Daniels becomes mayor.^[17]
  • EMC Insurance Building constructed.
  • Des Moines Dragons basketball team formed.
  • City website online.^[18]
• 2000 - Population: 197,800

21st century

• 2004 - Frank Cownie (D) elected mayor.^[19]
• 2005 - Wells Fargo Arena officially opens.
• 2006 - Sister city relationship established with Province of Catanzaro, Italy.
• 2010 - Population: 203,433.^[20]
• 2020 - Population: 214,133

See also

• List of Des Moines sports teams
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Polk County, Iowa
• History of Iowa
• List of Iowa railroads

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

• • Des Moines . 7 . 130 . 1.
• Book: Bushnell's Des Moines City Directory . 1879. .
• Book: Bushnell's Des Moines City Directory . 1888. .
• Book: Bushnell's Des Moines City Directory . 1891 .

Published in the 20th century

• Book: Des Moines Directory . . 1903, 1917, 1920, 1921
• 1908-
  • Des Moines . 8 . 98 . 1910 . . 1.
• Book: Des Moines Beautiful . Hunt . 1910 .
  • • . + Chronology
    • Book: Pratt . From Cabin to Capital City . 1990 .

Published in the 21st century

• Friedericks, William B. Covering Iowa: The History of the Des Moines Register and Tribune Company, 1849-1985 (Iowa State University Press, 2000), 318 pp.
• Web site: From the Real to the Ideal: Images of Des Moines in the Progressive Era . John Zeller . 2005 . Drake University .

External links

• Web site: Des Moines Public Library . Des Moines Timeline . Iowa .
• Items related to Des Moines, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).

41.591°N -93.621°W

Notes and References

1. Book: Bicentennial Reflections-History of the Des Moines Public Schools 1846-1976 .
2. Web site: Des Moines Municipal Cemeteries - Cemetery Highlights . City of Des Moines Parks and Recreation . May 11, 2017 .
3. Web site: US Newspaper Directory . Washington DC . Chronicling America . Library of Congress . April 4, 2013 .
4. Web site: Des Moines Women's Club. April 4, 2013.
5. Web site: Des Moines Local History . Des Moines Public Library . Iowa . April 4, 2013.
6. Women's Press Club . The Midwestern . November 1906 . Des Moines . 5998808 .
7. Web site: University of Iowa Libraries Collection Guides . Iowa City, IA . April 4, 2013.
8. Los Angeles Herald, Volume XXXI, Number 182, 29 March 1904
9. Book: Des Moines City and Valley Junction Directory . . 1910 .
10. Web site: Iowa Heritage Digital Collections . State of Iowa . April 4, 2013.
11. (includes timeline)
12. Web site: Historic Theatre Inventory . Maryland, USA . League of Historic American Theatres . April 4, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130721130121/http://www.lhat.org/historictheatres/theatre_inventory.aspx . July 21, 2013 .
13. Web site: Iowa Taxpayers Association . Des Moines . ITA History .
14. Web site: Greater Des Moines Sister City Commission. Office of the City Manager. December 30, 2014 .
15. Web site: Iowa Genealogical Society . Des Moines . April 4, 2013.
16. Web site: Des Moines Rowing Club . 25 March 2012 . April 4, 2013.
17. Web site: Mayor and Council. City of Des Moines. https://web.archive.org/web/20030123085611/http://www.dmgov.org/mayor_council/council/daniels.htm. dead. January 23, 2003.
18. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/19980512022205/http://www.ci.des-moines.ia.us/ . City of Des Moines . 1998-05-12 . .
19. Web site: Mayor and Council Members. City of Des Moines. https://web.archive.org/web/20100529172749/http://www.dmgov.org/Government/CityCouncil/Pages/CouncilMembers.aspx. dead. May 29, 2010.
20. Web site: QuickFacts Des Moines city, Iowa . US Census Bureau .