PLAN YOUR VISIT
Experience The Jordan House, a stately Victorian home of Italianate Gothic design and Bennett School, one of the last one-room schoolhouses built in Iowa.
View Calendar
BECOME A MEMBER
West Des Moines Historical Society is dedicated to the mission of historic preservation and to educate public about our historic sites in Central Iowa.
MAKE A DONATION
Your tax-deductible contribution supports community enrichment through education, preservation, and celebration of the history of the greater WDM area.
RECENT NEWS
-
09
Oct
2018Celebrate WDM History October 21
The West Des Moines Historical Society and West Des Moines Community Schools, along with the City of West Des Moines, will celebrate the end of the city’s 125th birthday with day full of history Saturday, October...
Read more -
27
Sep
2018A Death in the Family
The mirrors are covered, black crepe ribbons are on the door and the ladies of the house are airing out their black dresses. There’s been a death in the family, and Joan Ferry will talk about Victorian death customs,...
Read more
UPCOMING EVENTS
View Calendar
WEST DES MOINES HISTORICAL SOCIETY - HISTORIC BUILDINGS
The Jordan House
The Jordan House, a stately Victorian home of Italianate Gothic design, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a member of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program....
The Bennett School
Built in 1926 or ’27 the Bennett School was one of the last one room schools to be built in West Des Moines and was in use until at least 1941. It was originally located on an acre of ground donated...
Jordan House and The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a loosely organized system for helping escaped slaves from the southern states reach freedom in the North or Canada in the years before the Civil War.
To learn more about the Underground Railroad, click here.