Introduction to Des Moines, IA

DES MOINES, near the center of Iowa amid tree-covered hills at the confluence of the sluggish Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, owes its origins to a military fort set up in 1843. It had already grown into a trading center for farmers by the time the eighteen-year-old Frederick Hubbell arrived in 1855; within a decade he had founded the Equitable Life and Insurance Corporation to service their need for investment capital. Other companies soon realized the potential of agrarian business, and today the city is the world's third largest insurance center, behind London and Hartford, Connecticut. Illustrious former denizens of Des Moines include Ronald Reagan, who started out as a sportscaster on Radio WHO, and John Wayne, born and raised in nearby Winterset.

Information by Rough Guides

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