History · Des Moines

Des Moines has 187 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #42 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it

With 27% of its homes built before 1940 and 32 historic districts holding 2,502 contributing buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, the census since 1850, and every listing on the Register.

1850first census

187on the National Register

27%homes built before 1940

5old photos & papers

36famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Des Moines’ archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Des Moines began

When was Des Moines founded?

1850

Des Moines first appears in the census in 1850. Nine smaller post offices, Fort Des Moines (1837), Harvey's Point (1850) and East Des Moines (1858), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 502 in 18502020 census: 214,133176 years

How historic is Des Moines?

A⁻

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Des Moines’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Des Moines is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #42 of 140 in Iowa. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Des Moines’ overall grade.

Founding era1850, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194026.7% of homes (±0.9) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%A⁻National Register187 listings, 2,502 historic buildings, 118 per 10,000 residents · typical IA town 9.1 · U.S. 2.4A

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%

NewerOlder

Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 71%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Des Moines ranks #113 on History.

Iowa towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Iowa town has 9.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Des Moines’ 118 sits above most of its state (84% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 2,502 historic buildings outnumber those of 100% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Des Moines’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark187 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.A historic districtThe Washington and Elizabeth Miller Tract-Center-Soll Community Historic District takes in 297 historic buildings.Lost villages9 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Des Moines, and 16 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building8 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1920, drew every building in Des Moines.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

187 listings protect 2,502 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

187

National Historic Landmarks

Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Traini…

historic buildings protected

2,502

each building in a district counts

first listed

1972

Terrace Hill

BuildingsDistrictsStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian28

Colonial Revival18

Queen Anne17

Classical Revival17

Tudor Revival13

Commercial12

★ Landmark

Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training SchoolDistrict

Terrace HillVictorian

Naylor HouseVictorian · Built 1869

Southeast Water TroughStructure

Iowa State CapitolBeaux Arts · Built 1886

Lexington, TheRomanesque

Maish HouseItalianate · Built 1882

Burns United Methodist ChurchBuilding

All 187 listings

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Des Moines’s post office has been open since 1857. Nine other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fort Des Moines

1837–1857

Harvey's Point

1850–1852

Des Moines

1857–today

East Des Moines

1858–1860

Levey

1880–1904

Sevastapol

1880–1889

Chesterfield

1883–1903

University Place

1886–1889

North Des Moines

1888–1899

Fort Des Moines

1904–1955

18301930today

Hamlets and corners on the map

AvonCountry Estate VillageEast Des MoinesEaston PlaceFort Des MoinesGrandview Village Mobile Home ParkHighview Mobile Home ParkLeveyMillmanP and H Mobile Home CourtPine Grove Mobile Home ParkRadio City Mobile Home ParkRegency Manor Mobile Home ParkSouth Ridge EstatesStover Heights CommunityThe Meadows

Gone or out of use

Avalon TheatrebuildingChesterfield Post Officepost officeEast Des Moines Post Officepost officeFort Des Moines Post Officepost officeHarvey's Point Post Officepost officeLeveylocaleLevey Post Officepost officeNorth Des Moines Post Officepost officeRossin SchoolschoolSaint Gabriels MonasterychurchSevastapol Post Officepost officeUniversity Place Post Officepost office

12cemeteries and burying grounds inside Des Moines

AvonChildren of IsraelElm GroveEmanuelFort Des MoinesGlendaleLaurel HillOak GroveSaint AmbroseSimsSunset Memorial GardensWoodland

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Des Moines came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Des Moines.

Read it all →

Des Moines takes its name from Fort Des Moines (1843–46), which was named for the Des Moines River. This was adopted from the name given by French colonists. Des Moines (pronounced [de mwan] ; formerly [de mwɛn]) translates literally to either "from the monks" or "of the monks" from French.

Moines is an abbreviation used by the French for Moingouena, an Algonquian subgroup. The Native American term is mooyiinkweena, and it was a derogatory name applied to the Moingouenas by the Peorias, another subgroup, meaning shit-face.

ChaptersEtymology Prehistoric inhabitants of early Des Moines Origin of Fort Des Moines Early settlement Era of growth "City Beautiful" project, decline and rebirth

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Des Moines, 1879–1915

Passages that mention Des Moines, cut from the printed page as they were published.

of the Secretary of State, have ascertained, in accordance with Section 509 of the Code, that the following-named cities, having attained a population of fifteen thousand and upward, are entitled to become cities of the first class, to wit, the city of Burlington, in the county of Des Moines; the c… — **The history of Des Moines county, Iowa, containing a history of the country, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of citizens, war record of its volunteers ..**1879 · page 496Read the page →
Read the text
of the Secretary of State, have ascertained, in accordance with Section 509 of the Code, that the following-named cities, having attained a population of fifteen thousand and upward, are entitled to become cities of the first class, to wit, the city of Burlington, in the county of Des Moines; the city of Des Moines, in the county of Polk; and that the following-named towns having attained a population exceeding two thousand, are entitled to become cities of the second class, to wic The town of Marion, in the county of Linn; the town of Lansing, in the county of .\llamakee.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

**History of Des Moines County, Iowa**1915Read the page →
Read the text
Among the first settlers were Bernard Hall, who came to Des Moines County in 1837, and located on a farm in the township in 1857. Oliver Hall came to Des Moines County in 1838 and settled in Washington Township in 1854. R. M. Peckham came to the township in 1855.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That the country included within the following limits, to wit : Beginning at the southwest corner of Des Moines ; thence, northwest with the line of the said county of Van Buren, to the Indian boundary line ; thence north with the boundary line, twentyfour miles ; the… — **The history of Des Moines county, Iowa, containing a history of the country, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of citizens, war record of its volunteers ..**1879 · page 388Read the page →
Read the text
Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That the country included within the following limits, to wit : Beginning at the southwest corner of Des Moines ; thence, northwest with the line of the said county of Van Buren, to the Indian boundary line ; thence north with the boundary line, twentyfour miles ; thence, southeast to the northwest corner of the county of Des Moines ; thence, south with the west line of the county of Des Moines to the beginning, be and the same is hereby set off into a separate county, by the name of Henry.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Gooeli, Daniel Thompson and Peter Williams made claims at Fort Madison. In 1833, these claims were purchased by John II. and Nathaniel Knapp, upon which in [835 they laid out the town." We will now cross Skunk River and come within the limits of the now Des Moines County and make known the pioneers… — **History of Des Moines County, Iowa**1915 · page 49Read the page →
Read the text
Gooeli, Daniel Thompson and Peter Williams made claims at Fort Madison. In 1833, these claims were purchased by John II. and Nathaniel Knapp, upon which in [835 they laid out the town." We will now cross Skunk River and come within the limits of the now Des Moines County and make known the pioneers of Old Des Moines County, their county before December 7, 1836. The Indian title to the lands included in the Black Hawk Purchase did not expire until June 1st, 1833, and no one had a right prior to this time to make settlements by taking up a claim. The lands were unsurveyed, and no purchase could be made from
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Des Moines, 1837 to 2003

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1837Post officeThe Fort Des Moines post office opens
1850Post officeThe Harvey's Point post office opens
1852Post officeThe Harvey's Point post office closes
1857Post officeThe Fort Des Moines post office closes
1857Post officeThe Des Moines post office opens
1869BuiltNaylor House is built
1870In the archiveIowa courthouse
1882BuiltMaish House is built
1886BuiltIowa State Capitol is built
20th century
1900In the archivePlymouth postcard 2
1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1907BuiltHoyt Sherman Place is built
1926Born hereCloris Leachman is born here
1942Born hereStanley B. Prusiner is born here
1951Born hereBill Bryson is born here
1973Born hereCorey Taylor is born here
1974LandmarkFort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School named a National Historic Landma…
21st century
2003LandmarkTerrace Hill named a National Historic Landmark

By decade

Des Moines, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1900s5 items

1870Iowa courthouse

1878Seal of

1900Plymouth postcard 2Postcard

1901Locust St

1910s–1990snothing yet

Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Add from your album

On the map

Des Moines on the map, 1905 to 1971

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Des Moines. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1905Des Moines sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Des Moines.

Every building

Des Moines, building by building, 1884–1920

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Des Moines fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 2

1884Sheet 2 of 24

Edition

Sheets

+23 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewIowa courthouse, 1870

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Des Moines’ page.

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Des Moines, census by census

Grew from 502 people in 1850 to 214,133 in 2020, more than tenfold.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Des Moines’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

36 famous people were born in Des Moines

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Stanley B. PrusinerAmerican neurologist and biochemist · b. 1942

Cloris LeachmanAmerican actress and comedian · b. 1926

Corey TaylorAmerican musician · b. 1973

Bill BrysonAmerican-British author · b. 1951

Brandon RouthAmerican actor · b. 1979

Joey JordisonAmerican musician · b. 1975

Help out

Finish Des Moines’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewIowa courthouse: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

West Des Moines7 historic placesC⁺Pleasant HillIts storyD⁻Urbandale2 historic placesC⁻NorwalkIts storyC⁻Windsor Heights1 historic placeC

Questions about Des Moines’ history

What year was Des Moines founded?

The Des Moines post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Des Moines rank for history?

Des Moines is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #42 of 140 in Iowa. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Des Moines?

187 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 151 buildings, among them the Terrace Hill (listed 1972, the first), 32 historic districts with 2,332 contributing buildings, and 4 structures. 2,502 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Des Moines?

27% of Des Moines’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1961.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (18), the National Register of Historic Places (187), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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