In 1870 the Iowa Board of Immigration published "Iowa: The Home for Immigrants..." This 96-page guide was printed in English, German, Norwegian, Swedish, and Dutch and included statistics and other information to educate potential immigrants about…

Amend’s high quality meat has been a culinary treat for the city of Des Moines since founder Conrad Amend opened his first meat market four years after the Civil War. Amend was 11 years old when, alone, he left Germany to seek his fame and fortune…

*Original article published in The Annals of Iowa 20 (1936), State Historical Society of Iowa.  Isaac Brandt and his family moved to Des Moines in the spring of 1858 and decided to locate on the east side of the Des Moines River because of its…

The Dart D-Line downtown shuttle is just the latest chapter in the history of public transportation in Des Moines. Here's a timeline of past events:1867 - The Des Moines Street Railway is established by Dr. M.P. Turner.December 19, 1888 - The first…

Were your ancestors so amazing that they lived in two different states in the same house? Probably not, it’s more likely the culprit of changing land boundaries.Between 1836 and 1855 most all 99 Iowa counties were officially formed. Many of these…

Sawyer and Watrous was a Des Moines architectural firm formed by a partnership in 1905 and incorporated in 1929 by Ralph E. Sawyer and Charles A. Watrous (son of Charles L. Watrous, for whom Watrous Avenue is named). The younger Mr. Watrous was born…

Byron Henry must have been feeling quite prosperous in 1918 when he and his wife Anna, along with their son Norman, moved from 1234 Ninth Street to 4995 Country Club Boulevard. At that time it was one of only a handful of houses in the area and…

Major Hoyt Sherman was born in Ohio in 1827, the youngest of 11 children. His father was an Ohio Supreme Court judge, his brother John became the U.S. Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of State, and his brother William Tecumseh Sherman, a famous…

The Larnerd Case house (also known as Rose Hill) at 3111 Easton Boulevard is said to be the oldest home in Des Moines.  Different sources cite the original construction date from the early 1840’s to 1850. Owners appear to have loved the home, one…

A history of the Rowat Cut Stone Company should begin many years back. In fact, in 1850 a boy was born into a large family in Kilmarnock, Scotland. This boy started to learn to be a stonecutter at the age of 14 and just after he was 21 years old he…