In 1943, Alfred Lawson, former professional baseball player, manager, and owner, aviation pioneer, and more recently economic philosopher, purchased the six buildings and 14 acre grounds of the former University of Des Moines campus (closed since…

The 81 acre lot to the west of Des Moines that would become Greenwood Park had begun to be developed as a private park by the original owner, T.E. Brown – believing that the location and the landscape was perfect for a park, he had cleared the…

At the end of the 19th century, technology was on the move - literally. After the emergence and dominance of railroads in the middle of the 19th century, the next major transportation revolution was smaller-scale, and much more personal. The…

Whether they wanted to check out books about dinosaurs, listen to the strum of a guitar played by a library staff member, or simply get a break from the summer heat, Des Moines citizens flocked to the library’s bookmobiles. What began in 1937 as a…

Des Moines was one of many locations in Iowa affected by record flooding during the summer of 1993. Heavy snows earlier in the year, followed by a series of major rainstorms in the summer, led to higher water levels than were predicted by the…

On January 4, 1904 the Capitol Building caught fire. According to an article in the Des Moines Register and Leader the House Legislative Chamber and adjacent rooms were gutted by the fire. The cause of the fire was unknown at the time the article…

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…

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…