Walnut Woods Park Ranger

About forestry service, 50211, Norwalk, IA, US, Iowa

West Des Moines is a city in Iowa, United States. Most of the city is in Polk County, some of it is in Dallas County, and small portions extend into Warren and Madison Counties. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 68,723. West Des Moines is the third-most populous city in the Des Moines metropolitan area and the sixth-most populous city in Iowa. == History == === Settlement and early history === The West Des Moines area used to be home to the Sac and Meskwaki peoples. Near the stroke of midnight on October 11, 1845, a gunshot was fired by a cattle farmer, James Cunningham Jordan (1813–1893) to declare that the area was open for Anglo-European settlement. His residence, the Jordan House, has been restored and is now home to the West Des Moines Historical Society. The Jordan House was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and abolitionist John Brown stayed on Jordan property multiple times, at least once while escorting a group of freedom-seeking slaves to Canada. In West Des Moines' early years, the town was a trading and shipping junction. West Des Moines incorporated as the city of Valley Junction on October 9, 1893.