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…

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…

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…

Emma Ferrington inherited Reliable Rug Factory from her deceased husband Warren E. Ferrington in 1890 and quickly expanded services and products. You can still see the remaining building on Keo Way. According to a 2020 Des Moines Register article,…

The S.S. Brinsmaid house was the earliest known Prairie Style house in Iowa. It was designed by architect Arthur A. Heun and built in 1901 on the northeast corner of 36th and Grand. Heun is known for designing many large mansions in the Chicago…

From the late nineteenth century through the 1930s Iowa had a thriving automotive industry, and automobiles were designed and manufactured in its capital city by several companies. From early electric carriages to gasoline-powered luxury cars, Des…

Kurtz Hardware Co. proudly states it was founded in 1866 as a tinsmith and general hardware store, providing basic supplies for both residential and commercial clients. Louis H. Kurtz emigrated from Germany in 1840.  While journeying west, his…

At the turn of the 20th Century, many Des Moines residents sent their laundry out be laundered by others. White Star Laundry was one such company. It was owned by J.O. Anderson and operated out of the East Side of Des Moines. Anderson expanded his…

One of the earliest breweries was established by Frank Spitz near River, Second and Elm, on the Raccoon River. He ran a successful business until when while crossing the ice on the Raccoon River, carrying a bag of malt, he broke through and died.…