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History · Des Moines

Des Moines’ post office opened in 1906, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1972 on and the census since 1920.

1906first post office
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Des Moines began

When was Des Moines founded?

1906

The Des Moines post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 800 in 19202020 census: 117120 years
Founding year: the first Des Moines post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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 history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Des Moines are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Des Moines’ homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Des Moines’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Des Moines’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Des Moines came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Des Moines.

Read it all →

In 1887-88, the Colorado and Southern Railroad built a line and established a station they named Des Moines after Des Moines, Iowa. The St. Louis, Rocky Mountain & Pacific Railway arrived in 1907.

A post office has been in operation since 1906. In 1907, two settlement sites were surveyed. One retained the name Des Moines, and the other Saavedra after its founder. Initially, Saavedra was the more populous of the two places; however, the combined settlement was called Des Moines.

Des Moines initially consisted mostly of hastily constructed shacks. The maximum population of 800 was reached in 1920, but drought and the Great Depression caused a quick decline.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Des Moines, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Des Moines, New Mexico2026Des Moines, New Mexico
On the map

Des Moines on the map, 1972 to 1982

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

Des Moines on the 1972 USGS mapDes Moines on the 1982 USGS map1972Des Moines sheet · 1:24,000

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.

People over time

Des Moines, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 800

Between 117 and 800 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Des Moines

Nobody well known was born in Des Moines itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Paul L. ModrichAmerican biochemist · b. 1946
Petro VlahosAmerican cinema pioneer · b. 1916
T
Tom W. BlackburnAmerican writer · b. 1913
H
Helene Thomas BennettAmerican bacteriologist, businesswoman · b. 1901
John R. SinnockUnited States mint engraver · b. 1888
Robert W. WarrenUnited States federal judge · b. 1925

Questions about Des Moines’ history

What year was Des Moines founded?

The Des Moines post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.