RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Polk County >> West Des Moines >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Iowa

The Commemorative Quarter for Iowa





Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about West Des Moines (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for West Des Moines. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for West Des Moines ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Des Moines: W. Des Moines

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

West Des Moines is primarily located in Polk County. A portion of West Des Moines extends into Dallas County and Warren County.

To see how the shape of Iowa's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Polk County: Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Story & Warren.

Below are the counties that are near West Des Moines. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Des Moines:

  • Polk County     (The home county of West Des Moines)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Des Moines, with the one closest to West Des Moines listed first.
    • Commerce
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Commerce. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
      • Commerce is located in Polk County
    • Windsor Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windsor Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor Heights
      • Windsor Heights is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,735 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windsor Heights <3>
    • Clive
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clive have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clive
      • Clive is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clive <3>
    • Urbandale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Urbandale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbandale
      • Urbandale is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,650 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Urbandale <3>
    • Norwalk
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwalk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
      • Norwalk is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,449 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <3>
    • Des Moines
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Grimes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Johnston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston
      • Johnston is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,092 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnston <3>
    • Marquisville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquisville
      • Marquisville is located in Polk County
    • Saylorville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saylorville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylorville
      • Saylorville is located in Polk County
    • Herrold
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrold
      • Herrold is located in Polk County
    • Country Estate Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Country Estate Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Estate Village
      • Country Estate Village is located in Polk County
    • Carney
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carney. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carney
      • Carney is located in Polk County
  • Adair County
    • Stanzel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanzel
      • Stanzel is located in Adair County
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Des Moines, with the one closest to West Des Moines listed first.
    • Madrid
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Luther
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Luther. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
      • Luther is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
  • Clarke County
    • Liberty
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
      • Liberty is located in Clarke County
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Des Moines, with the one closest to West Des Moines listed first.
    • Booneville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Waukee
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Van Meter
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • DeSoto
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Dallas Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Adel
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel
      • Adel is located in Dallas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adel <3>
    • Granger
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • High Bridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for High Bridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
      • High Bridge is located in Dallas County
    • Minburn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minburn
      • Minburn is located in Dallas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 357 people
    • Panther
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Panther. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
      • Panther is located in Dallas County
    • Woodward
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Xenia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenia
      • Xenia is located in Dallas County
    • Wiscotta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiscotta
      • Wiscotta is located in Dallas County
  • Guthrie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Des Moines, with the one closest to West Des Moines listed first.
    • Stuart
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stuart have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuart
      • Stuart is located in Guthrie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,756 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stuart <3>
    • Dale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
      • Dale is located in Guthrie County
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Des Moines, with the one closest to West Des Moines listed first.
    • Vandalia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
      • Vandalia is located in Jasper County
    • Oswalt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswalt
      • Oswalt is located in Jasper County
    • Valeria
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valeria have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valeria
      • Valeria is located in Jasper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
    • Prairie City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Colfax
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Mingo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Castle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Castle
      • Green Castle is located in Jasper County
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Des Moines, with the one closest to West Des Moines listed first.
    • Patterson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
      • Patterson is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
    • Saint Charles
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Charles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
      • Saint Charles is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 656 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Charles <3>
    • Earlham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Earlham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earlham
      • Earlham is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,409 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Earlham <3>
    • Winterset
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • East Peru
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Peru. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peru
      • East Peru is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
    • Truro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Truro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truro
      • Truro is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 501 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Truro <3>
    • Pitzer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pitzer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitzer
      • Pitzer is located in Madison County
    • Ord
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ord. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ord
      • Ord is located in Madison County
    • Webster
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Webster is located in Madison County
    • Barney
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
      • Barney is located in Madison County
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Des Moines, with the one closest to West Des Moines listed first.
    • Swan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
      • Swan is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
    • Pleasantville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Story County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Des Moines, with the one closest to West Des Moines listed first.
    • Slater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Huxley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huxley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxley
      • Huxley is located in Story County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,270 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huxley <3>
    • Midvale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
      • Midvale is located in Story County
    • Cambridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
      • Cambridge is located in Story County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 796 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cambridge <3>
    • Kelley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Maxwell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Des Moines, with the one closest to West Des Moines listed first.
    • Orillia
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Orillia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
      • Orillia is located in Warren County
    • Cumming
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumming have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumming
      • Cumming is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 413 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cumming <3>
    • Lakewood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
      • Lakewood is located in Warren County
    • Prole
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prole have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
      • Prole is located in Warren County
    • Churchville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville
      • Churchville is located in Warren County
    • Spring Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
    • Martensdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martensdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martensdale
      • Martensdale is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martensdale <3>
    • Bevington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bevington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bevington
      • Bevington is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bevington <3>
    • Saint Marys
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Marys have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
      • Saint Marys is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
    • Indianola
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Palmyra
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
      • Palmyra is located in Warren County
    • Hartford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
      • Hartford is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <3>
    • Ackworth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ackworth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
      • Ackworth is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Des Moines, see our County-by-County Page for West Des Moines.

Cemeteries Near West Des Moines ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Des Moines.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Des Moines covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Des Moines, with the one closest to West Des Moines listed first.

  • Jordan Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jordan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jordan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Resthaven Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Dale Moffit Reservoir Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dale Moffit Reservoir Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dale Moffit Reservoir Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Huston Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Huston Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Huston Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Glendale Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Booneville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Booneville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Booneville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Emmanuel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emmanuel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emmanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Ambrose Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Ambrose Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Ambrose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (271 more) ...
    • Chapel Hill Gardens Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel Hill Gardens Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel Hill Gardens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • McDivitt Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McDivitt Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McDivitt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Waukee Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<5>

While we didn't find West Des Moines in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Des Moines.

These communities are listed based on their distance from West Des Moines, with the one closest to West Des Moines listed first.

  • Commerce
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Commerce. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
    • Commerce is located in Polk County
  • Ashawa
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashawa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashawa
    • Ashawa is located in Polk County
  • Orillia
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Orillia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
    • Orillia is located in Warren County
  • Campbell
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
    • Campbell is located in Polk County
  • Valley Junction
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Junction
    • Valley Junction is located in Polk County
  • Cumming
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumming have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumming
    • Cumming is located in Warren County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 413 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cumming <3>
  • Clive
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clive have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clive
    • Clive is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,444 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clive <3>
  • Booneville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Norwalk
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwalk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
    • Norwalk is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,449 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <3>
  • Waukee
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Des Moines
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Van Meter
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Grimes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Prole
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prole have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
      • Prole is located in Warren County
    • Saylorville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saylorville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylorville
      • Saylorville is located in Polk County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Des Moines. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Des Moines.

Newspapers Published in West Des Moines ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Des Moines.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Des Moines, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Des Moines.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to West Des Moines:

The official website for West Des Moines: www.city.west-des-moines.ia.us/

The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.ia.us/

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about West Des Moines, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Des Moines) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Des Moines. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5588, Longitude: -93.7666       In this case, the coordinates for West Des Moines have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025