Timeline of Des Moines, Iowa

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

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

19th century

• 1843 - Fort Des Moines U.S. Army post established.^[1]
• 1846
  • Fort Des Moines becomes seat of Polk County.
  • Subscription schools open "in cabins along Raccoon Row."^[2]
• 1849 - Iowa Star newspaper begins publication.^[3]
• 1851
  • Flood of 1851.
  • September 22: Town incorporated.^[1]
• 1853 - Benjamin Luce elected mayor.^[4]
• 1854 - Western Stage Company begins operating.^[5]
• 1855 - Brass Band formed.^[4]
• 1856 - Iowa Weekly Citizen newspaper begins publication.^[3]
• 1857
  • Iowa state capital relocated to Des Moines from Iowa City.^[1]
  • City chartered.^[1]
• 1858 - Bridge built over Des Moines River at Court Avenue.
• 1861 - Western Union Telegraph begins operating.^[4]
• 1865 - Hook and Ladder fire company organized.^[4]
• 1866
  • August: Railroad begins operating.^[6]
  • Des Moines Library Association organized.^[4]
• 1867
  • April: Flood.^[7]
  • State Arsenal built.^[4]
• 1870
  • Polk County Woman's Suffrage Association organized.^[4]
  • Capital City Nurseries in business.^[8]
• 1872 - Caledonian Club organized.^[4]
• 1874 - Younker Brothers Department Store in business.
• 1875 - June: State Republican Convention held.^[9]
• 1878 - Cottage Hospital opens.^[6]
• 1881 - Drake University established.
• 1883 - Foster Opera House built.^[10]
• 1884 - Capital City commercial college founded.^[1]
• 1885 - Des Moines Women's Club founded.^[11]
• 1886 - Iowa State Capitol built.
• 1888 - William Lytle Carpenter elected mayor.^[12]
• 1889 - Des Moines Zoological Gardens opens.^[13]
• 1890
  • Highland Park College founded.^[1]
  • Population: 50,093.^[1]
• 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^[1] and Young Women's Christian Association founded.^[14]
• 1896 - Women's Press Club^[15] and Proteus Club^[14] founded.
• 1898 - S.S. Still College of Osteopathy founded.^[16]

20th century

• 1900 - Fort Des Moines re-established.^[1]
• 1902 - Register and Leader newspaper in publication.^[3]
• 1904 - George W. Mattern, Republican, was elected mayor of Des Moines (March 28) over W. L. Carpenter, Democrat^[17]
• 1906 - Polk County Courthouse and The Lexington (apartment building) constructed.
• 1907 - New city charter and plan adopted.^[1][18]
• 1910
  • Hotel Cargill in business.^[19]
  • Population: 86,368.^[1]
• 1914 - Billy Robinson flies from Des Moines to Kentland, Indiana.^[16]
• 1915 - Riverview Park (amusement park) opens.
• 1917 - Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School active.
• 1918 - 1918 influenza epidemic.^[20]
• 1920 - Des Moines League of Women Voters founded.^[14]
• 1923 - Ground-breaking for Salisbury House; property completed in 1928
• 1923 - Hoyt Sherman Place Theatre built.^[21]
• 1924 - Equitable Building constructed.
• 1927 - American Commercial and Savings Bank building constructed.
• 1931 - Allen Hazen Water Tower built.
• 1933 - Des Moines Airport built.
• 1934 - September: Labor strike.^[22]
• 1935 - Iowa Taxpayers Association headquartered in Des Moines.^[23]
• 1955 - Veterans Memorial Auditorium opens.
• 1958 - Sister city relationship established with Kofu, Japan.^[24]
• 1959 - Merle Hay Mall in business.
• 1965 - Iowa Genealogical Society founded.^[25]
• 1966 - Blank Park Zoo opens.
• 1972 - Gateway Dance Theatre founded.^[14]
• 1973 - Financial Center built.
• 1975 - Ruan Center built.
• 1978 - Fire in Merle Hay Mall.
• 1981 - Des Moines Marriott Hotel built.
• 1983 - Des Moines Rowing Club organized.^[26]
• 1985
  • Sister city relationships established with Shijiazhuang, China and Saint-Étienne, France.^[24]
  • Plaza Building constructed.
• 1986 - HUB Tower built.
• 1991 - 801 Grand built.
• 1992
  • Sister city relationship established with Stavropol, Russia.^[24]
  • Sec Taylor Stadium (now known as Principal Park) opens
• 1994 - Iowa Barnstormers begin play
• 1997
  • Preston Daniels becomes mayor.^[27]
  • EMC Insurance Building constructed.
  • Des Moines Dragons basketball team formed.
  • City website online.^[28][29]

21st century

• 2004 - Frank Cownie becomes mayor.^[30]
• 2005 - Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines) opens.
• 2006 - Sister city relationship established with Province of Catanzaro, Italy.^[24]

See also

• List of Des Moines sports teams
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Polk County, Iowa
• Timeline of Iowa^[31]
• History of Iowa
• List of Iowa railroads

References

1. Britannica 1910.
2. Bicentennial Reflections-History of the Des Moines Public Schools 1846-1976.
3. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
4. Dixon 1876.
5. Annals of Iowa, Davenport, Iowa: Iowa State Historical Society, 1873
6. Bushnell 1879.
7. New York Times, April 18, 1867
8. Bushnell 1888.
9. New York Times, July 1, 1875
10. Public Library 1982.
11. "Des Moines Women's Club". Retrieved April 4, 2013.
12. Portrait and biographical album of Polk County, Iowa, Chicago: Lake City Publishing Co., 1890
13. "Des Moines Local History". Iowa: Des Moines Public Library. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
14. "University of Iowa Libraries Collection Guides". Iowa City, IA. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
15. "Women's Press Club". The Midwestern (Des Moines). November 1906. OCLC 5998808.
16. "Iowa Heritage Digital Collections". State of Iowa. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
17. Los Angeles Herald, Volume XXXI, Number 182, 29 March 1904
18. City Council 1908.
19. Des Moines City and Valley Junction Directory. R.L. Polk & Co. 1910.
20. "50 U.S. Cities and Their Stories: Des Moines", American Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919: a Digital Encyclopedia (University of Michigan), retrieved February 2016 (includes timeline)
21. "Historic Theatre Inventory". Maryland, USA: League of Historic American Theatres. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
22. "Des Moines Dim as Strike Closes 2 Light Plants", Milwaukee Sentinel, September 18, 1934
23. "ITA History". Des Moines: Iowa Taxpayers Association.
24. "Greater Des Moines Sister City Commission". Office of the City Manager. Retrieved December 2014.
25. "Iowa Genealogical Society". Des Moines. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
26. "Des Moines Rowing Club". Retrieved April 4, 2013.
27. "Mayor and Council". City of Des Moines. Archived from the original on January 23, 2003.
28. "D.M. City Hall debuts presence in cyberspace", Des Moines Register, November 3, 1997 – via Des Moines Public Library
29. "City of Des Moines". Archived from the original on May 1998 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
30. "Mayor and Council Members". City of Des Moines. Archived from the original on May 29, 2010.
31. Federal Writers' Project 1938, p. 547: "Chronology"

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

• J. M. Dixon (1876), Centennial History of Polk County, Iowa, Des Moines: State Register, printer
• Bushnell's Des Moines City Directory. 1879.
• Bushnell's Des Moines City Directory. 1888.
• Bushnell's Des Moines City Directory. 1891.
• Des Moines Illustrated Souvenir, Des Moines: Iowa Historical Illustrative Co., 1896

Published in the 20th century

• Des Moines Directory. R.L. Polk & Co. 1903, 1917, 1920, 1921
• Annual Report of the City of Des Moines, Des Moines City Council 1908-
• The Des Moines Plan of City Government, Des Moines: City Council, 1908
• "Des Moines", Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed.), New York, 1910, OCLC 14782424 – via Internet Archive
• Hunt (1910). Des Moines Beautiful.
• Johnson Brigham (1911), Des Moines, Chicago: S.J. Clarke publishing company, OCLC 1851917
• Tacitus Hussey (1919), Beginnings: reminiscences of early Des Moines, Des Moines, Ia: American Lithograph and Ptg. Co., OCLC 3528149
• Federal Writers' Project (1938), "Des Moines", Iowa: a Guide to the Hawkeye State, American Guide Series, New York: Viking. + Chronology
• Ory Mazar Nergal, ed. (1980), "Des Moines, IA", Encyclopedia of American Cities, New York: E.P. Dutton, OL 4120668M
• Historic Walking Tours of Des Moines, Iowa, Public Library of Des Moines, Iowa, 1982
• Pratt (1990). From Cabin to Capital City.
• "Great Plains: Iowa: Des Moines", USA, Let's Go, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999, OL 24937240M

Published in the 21st century

• John Zeller (2005). "From the Real to the Ideal: Images of Des Moines in the Progressive Era". Drake University.

External links

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

Coordinates: 41°35′27″N 93°37′15″W / 41.590833°N 93.620833°W