City of Waukee History

[The following is excerpted from the 1969 Waukee Centennial Committee commemorative booklet.]

 

General L.A. Grant

Lewis Addison Grant was born in Winhall Hollow, Vermont, on January 17, 1829, where he grew to manhood and became a lawyer. He was with the firm of Slaughter and Grant when the U.S. Civil War began. Entering the army as a major of the 50th Regiment, Vermont, in September 1861, he rose by regular promotions to the rank of Brigadier General and commended the so-called "Vermont Brigade" to the close of the war. In October 1864 he received the brevet rank of major general "for gallant and meritorious services in the present campaign before Richmond, Virginia, and the Shenandoah Valley." His name appears on the monument at Little Round Top, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, along with the other men who gallantly fought there.

After the war, General Grant moved to Des Moines with his family. He spent almost twenty years here until moving to Minneapolis. In 1890, Minnesota senators recommended him for assistant secretary of war. He served in this post under President Harrison from April 5, 1890 to December 15, 1893. After living a full and rewarding life, he died on March 20, 1918.

Early History

When the Civil War came to an end in 1865, people were courted by the railroads and newspapers to come west and settle the bountiful land beyond the Mississippi. Des Moines and western Iowa were having growing pains. The railroads reached out to everyone and the men already settled here tried their best to get the railroads to come in their direction. The Des Moines Valley Railroad completed its building into Des Moines on August 29, 1866. Headquarters were in Keokuk with D.W. Kilbourne serving as president, General Reid and Colonel Leighton listed as lessees. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad built the first rails west out of Des Moines to the south of Waukee through what are now Booneville and Van Meter in early 1868.

In 1869, Iowa needed a route to Minnesota. The engineers were sent out to survey for the route and the construction materials were shipped to Des Moines. The necessary money was raised and the announcement was made that Des Moines Valley Railroad had placed fifty miles of their railroad under contract extending from Des Moines to Greene County.

On April 13, 1869 the proposed route was announced in the Iowa Daily State Register. Leaving Des Moines it was to enter Dallas County, run through Walnut Township, and on into Greene County. "A new town will be laid out in 2, 79, 27 about 6-1/2 miles from Adel, Dallas County. Another has been laid out in 7 & 8, 80, 27 near Pierces Point, Dallas County to be called Minburn. Perry is laid out in 9 & 10, 81, 28."

In May, 1869, the roadbed was laid and the men working for Des Moines Valley Railroad were laying the rails. A coach car housed these men and moved up the track with them.

On April 30, 1869, General L.A. Grant and Major William Ragan, doing business as Grant, Ragan and Co., bought land around the railroad bed in Walnut Township, Section 33, from Cyrus W. Fisher, the land on which the town of Waukee would be built.

By June 2 it was reported that all the stations from Des Moines to the Northwestern Railroad line had been fixed and christened. First was Valley Junction at the crossing of the C.R.I. and P.R.R. The second was Shirley, nine miles from the Junction. The others in order were Dallas Center, Pierces Point, Perry, Rippey, and Grand Junction at the Northwestern Railroad. Depots were to be erected as soon as carpenter corps could do the work.

Twenty-five miles of track had been laid by June 13 and the first regular train went out on the tracks June 15. Shirley had been laid off in lots, one house already erected with more to go up soon. General Grant and Major Ragan had named the town Shirley but it didn't keep that name for very long. When General Reid of the Des Moines Valley Railroad heard about it he said it should be changed. As reported in the Daily Register, "The proprietors named it Shirley in the first place, but the ‘powers that be' in the railroad office down in Keokuk insisted that it should have an Indian appellation, and hence Waukee it had to be. What Waukee means, we don't know. For that, you must ask Gen. Reid."

One month later finds the depot built and 320 acres laid off in lots and out lots with eight or ten residences built. General Grant did not live here, but he and Major Ragan had some houses built for speculation to promote sales in the town.

Incorporation

In June 1878, Judge Callvert appointed M. Sines, B.T. Halstead, C.C. Tyler, C.F.M. Clarke and G.S. Wharton as commissioners to hold an election for incorporation of Waukee. They designated July 2 as the date for the election. The election resulted in 35 votes for and 15 against. The first election of officers for the incorporated town of Waukee was held July 24. The following were elected to office: Mayor T.F. Howe; Recorder W.E. Humphrey; Town Council A.T. Blackman, C.C. Tyler, Pat Hogan, C.F.M. Clarke, W.H. Wood, Taylor Bates; Assessor John A. Houston. The council held their first meeting after qualifying and passed their first ordinance by unanimous vote: Ordinance No. 1 - The sale of spirituous or vinous liquors is prohibited within two miles of the corporate limits of Waukee.

There is no history of how long Major Ragan remained invested in the town, but there is recorded on March 18, 1871, a quit claim from William Ragan to all lots in the town of Waukee and its additions. General Grant sold all his holdings in and around Waukee in July 1880 to O.W. Mead.

Logo

The Waukee Town Council sponsored a contest for the creation of a Waukee town emblem in 1973 which received entries from residents of Waukee and the surrounding area. All entries were received on an 8 ½ by 11 inch plain sheet paper submitted to the Community Betterment Council. The winning entry was received from Jerome (Brick) Volkmer which incorporated a key into the city name. For his efforts Brick Volkmer was given a gas fueled light. Today, the City of Waukee still utilizes a logo based upon Brick's original design.