Best Places to Live in Des Moines

Welcome to Des Moines!

Des Moines is the capital of and the most populous city in the State of Iowa, United States. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, owing its name to the Des Moines River (French: Rivière Des Moines, literally meaning "River of the Monks," but in the 18th century designating "River of the Moingwena," an Illinois Indian subtribe; the Frency voyagers often abbreviated tribal names, and in this case "River of the Moingwena" became "River of the Moines"), until it was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. It is also the county seat of Polk County. The five-county metropolitan area is ranked 92nd in terms of population in the United States according to 2006 estimates with 534,230 residents according to United States Census Bureau.
Des Moines is a major center for the insurance industry and also has a sizeable financial services and publishing business base. The city is the headquarters for the Principal Financial Group, the Meredith Corporation, and Ruan Transportation. Other major corporations such as Wells Fargo, ING Group, Marsh, and Pioneer Hi-Bred have large operations in or near the metro area. Forbes Magazine ranked Des Moines as the fourth "Best Place for Business" in 2007.
Recently, Des Moines has been experiencing rapid growth in the western and southern suburbs and is quickly becoming a large metropolitan area and national center for financial business.
Interstate 235 cuts through the city, and Interstate 35 and Interstate 80 both pass through the Des Moines metropolitan area.
Des Moines was founded in May 1843 when Captain James Allen built a fort on the site where the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers merge. Allen wanted to use the name Fort Raccoon, but the American War Department told him to name it Fort Des Moines. The origin of the name Des Moines is uncertain. The French "Des Moines" translates literally to "Of The Monks." "Rivière Des Moines" translates to "river of the monks," known today under the anglicized name of Des Moines River. It could have referred to the river of the Moingonas, named after an Indian tribe that resided in the area and built burial mounds. Others see it as referring to French Trappist monks, some of whom lived in huts at the mouth of the river, or connected to the phrase de moyen in French, meaning middle, because of its location between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

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