Historical Valley Junction, located just outside of Des Moines, Iowa, is home to over 160 distinctive stores, restaurants, & independent businesses. While other areas with the city and across the country can make similar or even far greater claims, what makes Historical Valley Junction different is a dedicated effort to form an identity that has been able to appeal to both residents and tourists. Doing so has made the entire area a monument that is one of central Iowa’s most unique attractions.
The Birth of Historic Valley Junction
In 1846, Valley Junction’s first settler pitched a tent between two oak trees on the western side of the Des Moines border. When the railroad moved into the area in the 1890s, area businessmen purchased 40 acres of land east of 8th Street and a “downtown” was born, setting the tone for the city that would be created and cultivated in this space for the next century.
Today, Historic Valley Junction is dedicated to advancing the growth and development of the area into a vital and dynamic commercial, residential and tourist area. It’s something that is currently being achieved through business improvements, organization and promotion that can be seen in several different ways.
The maps and guides available at the Historic Valley Junction Welcome Center provide visitors with an incredible sense of the variety they can experience in the area. The types of stores range from food & beverage to crafts & hobbies to antiques & vintage, almost all of which are exclusive to the area.
Additionally, the history and culture of the area is highlighted in several notable ways. A series of public art pieces titled “Our Main Street” celebrated the 30th year as a Main Street Iowa community. It was designed to provide residents and visitors a sense of belonging, while also being grounded in West Des Moines’ pride and heritage. On the south end of Historic Valley Junction is Railroad Park, where visitors can get a better sense of the history and significance of the industry and machinery that once dominated the area.
This history and culture has opened up incredible opportunities for the businesses throughout Historic Valley Junction, but it’s not something that happened by accident.
Activities and Opportunities
Events of all types take place through the year in Historic Valley Junction. These happenings include the signature weekly farmers market and concert series, held from May through September, but this series is far from the only event taking place in the area. Everything from concerts to car shows to jamborees are held at various times throughout the year to attract residents and visitors.
This activity has provided benefits for the stores and restaurants in a direct way, but there are other benefits that they’re able to leverage thanks to their collected efforts to highlight the area. Advertisements and promotional materials can showcase Historical Valley Junction itself rather than any individual store, allowing those businesses to benefit from the wider exposure without incurring major costs. These efforts have proven to attract an entirely new audience and help these businesses thrive and grow.
Most of these opportunities have been realized thanks to the efforts of the Historic Valley Junction Foundation (HVJF). The organization offers cooperative advertising, training, technical assistance, design services and trash collection for Valley Junction merchants. Their emphasis on historic preservation, economic development and business growth has opened up incredible opportunities that the entire community has been able to benefit from.
By focusing on sharing the history of the area and engaging and connecting the community, Historical Valley Junction has been able to be transformed into a true monument.
A Legacy of Community Connection
Like other areas of a city that have become monuments in and of themselves by serving as a hub for a variety of activities, Historical Valley Junction has been able to draw residents and tourists by showcasing how much they can all experience at the location. By directly and indirectly connecting all of these people into the wider Historical Valley Junction community, the area showcases what it can mean for a whole of a community to create a monumentous legacy that is much greater than the sum of its parts.
