Valley Junction

Valley Junction. . , October 1842 – Land is transferred to the United States , 1845 - Iowa opened for homesteaders , Spring of 1846 - First settlers moved into Walnut Township, future site of West Des Moines , 1849 - Church services began in the Jordan log cabin home; James Jordan gave the township its first log school building , 1854 - Underground Railroad established , 1868 - Des Moines Valley Railway Company built the grade through Valley Junction , 1887 - Post Office chartered and built on west side of 5th Street in the 200 block , 1891 - Rock Island Railroad moves railroad shop and roundhouse from Stuart to Valley Junction , 1892 - Rock Island roundhouse completed, Valley Junction designated as terminal division station , 1893 - Valley Junction Independent School District established , 1894 - First jail built on south end of 8th Street , 1895 - First established high school started with a 9th grade class , 1901 - First National Bank opened, City Hall and Fire Station built at 137 5th Street , 1902 - Keystone Coal Mine was started , 1905 - First Fire Department established, Valley High School accredited , 1915 - Wooden race track built , 1920 - First letter carrier hired , 1934 - First Library established in home of Marge Herron at 504 6th Street , 1936 - Rock Island moved railroad yards out of Valley Junction , 1938 - City's name changed to West Des Moines , 1943 - West Des Moines Public Library founded at 314 5th Street , 1973 - Jordan House placed on the National Register of Historic Places , 1993 - West Des Moines celebrates 100th Anniversary, West Des Moines Historical Society moves into Jordan House, Flooding that summer engulfs Valley Junction , 2007 - City of West Des Moines acquires the original City Hall from private ownership, In 1846, Valley Junction's first settler, James C. Jordan, pitched a tent on the western side of the Des Moines border where he later built a house. This home became a stop on the "Underground Railroad". Aside from having a strong sense of moral values, Jordan was also active politically, serving as a county supervisor, and both a state senator and representative., Valley Junction experienced a major economic boom between 1891 and 1896. Until the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad moved its roundhouse, switching yards and repair shops from Stuart to Valley Junction, the area had primarily been a community of coal miners. With the news of the railroad's move into the area, several area businessmen formed the Hawkeye Investment Company and purchased 40 acres of land east of 8th Street and a "downtown" was born., By 1893, Valley Junction bustled with horse-drawn traffic, a trolley line, eight-foot-wide wooden sidewalks, and dirt streets lined with three banks, three drug stores and several "boarding houses" of questionable character. The railroad had made Valley Junction a popular stop where 26 passenger trains arrived and departed daily. As the boom continued and new citizens arrived, the community added many houses, two new schools, four organized churches, and a newspaper., Today, the charming past is still thriving in Valley Junction. Visitors can enjoy more than 150 specialty stores, art galleries, fashion boutiques, restaurants and antique shops, each with a unique historic character.