Des Moines

Des Moines , city (1990 pop. 193,187), state capital and seat of Polk co., S central Iowa, at the junction of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers; inc. as Fort Des Moines in 1851, chartered as Des Moines in 1857. Iowa's largest city, it is an industrial, transportation, cultural, and governmental center in the heart of the Feed Grains and Livestock Belt. Printing and publishing, agricultural processing, and the manufacture of transportation equipment, machinery, metal and plastic products, textiles, and apparel are among its industries. The city is also home to many insurance and other financial services companies.

Settled by homesteaders, Des Moines became the capital of Iowa in 1857. It is the seat of Drake Univ., the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, and Grand View College, among other educational institutions. Places of interest include the capitol (1871-84); the Des Moines Art Center; the Center of Science and Industry; the Iowa Museum of Agriculture; the Des Moines Central Library; and the state fairgrounds. The city suffered several floods in the 1950s, and despite flood control measures constructed on the Des Moines River, was again inundated in 1993.

Des Moines Capital and largest city of Iowa state, USA, near the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers. Founded in 1843, it is now an industrial and transport centre for the Corn Belt. Industries: mechanical and aerospace engineering, chemicals. Pop. (2000) 198,682.

Des Moines, USA There are three towns with this name, the one in Iowa being the most important. It was founded in 1843 as a fort to protect Native American rights. The origin of the name is not clear. It may be derived from a Native American word mikonang ‘road’ which became Moingona as the local name for the river on which the city lies. The French may have shortened this to moin; conveniently, after some French monks had settled here, the river came to be called Rivière des Moines ‘River of Monks’. The name, however, probably comes from the French de moyen ‘middle’, indicating that it was halfway between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.