Fort Des Moines Historic Preservation Plan

Fort Des Moines History

Originally established as a cavalry post in 1903, Fort Des Moines is one of only two National Historic Landmarks in Polk County and the first to be designated a National Register Historic District for its service as the Provisional Army Officer Training School, which marked both the U.S. Army's first recognition of its responsibility to train black officers and the establishment of a military tradition among African Americans. Fort Des Moines was also the birthplace of the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC), later renamed the Women's Army Corps (WAC), during WWII. It was the first and largest such training center during the war, training over 72,000 women, including 3,069 officers--the first women officers in the Army at any level.

Grants Awarded

This project was funded in part by a Historic Resource Development Program Grant (HRDP). The HRDP Grant is funded through the Resource Enhancement and Protection Program Act (REAP), and administered through the State Historical Society for historical projects including acquisition and development, preservation and conservation, interpretation, training and educational programs related to historical resources.

This project is also funded in part by a grant from the Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation. The Favrot grant is administered through the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit membership organization chartered by Congress to encourage public participation in all aspects of historic preservation.

Choosing a Consultant Team

The Planning Committee

If you’d like to be included on an email list of interested individuals to receive updates as we progress or have any questions or comments regarding this project, please contact Mindy Moore, Park Planner II at 515-248-6349 or msmoore@dmgov.org.

Plan Components

  1. Review of existing assessments of historic significance of each building, features of the site, and cultural landscape with updates as needed;

  2. Assessment of physical and structural condition and integrity of buildings, infrastructure, and features of the site;

  3. Identification of preservation, rehabilitation, and mothballing efforts necessary;

  4. Priority schedule of preservation and rehabilitation work;

  5. Estimated cost of preservation and rehabilitation efforts;

  6. Recommendations for adaptive reuse and connections among the features of the site; and

  7. Recommendations for easements or other legal tools to ensure ongoing preservation.


Plan Guidelines

  1. Be in accordance with The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings and any other applicable state or federal law or regulations;

  2. Be in accordance with the Programmatic Agreement;

  3. Be in accordance with the covenants stipulated in the Quick Claim Deed;

  4. Consider the SuperBlock Master Plan;

  5. Be energy efficient;

  6. Promote sustainable building materials and techniques;

  7. Address health and safety concerns related to emergency egress, fire detection and suppression, and hazardous materials; and

  8. Address accessibility in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992 and implementing regulations.


1st Committee Meeting – October 27, 2009


2nd Committee Meeting – December 15, 2009

3rd Committee Meeting – March 4, 2010

4th Committee Meeting/Public Input Session – TBD – April


5th Committee Meeting – TBD -- May


Additional Documentation - The large sizes of the following documents prohibit them from being posted in their entirety. Only the title pages, table of contents, introductions and/or summaries have been included.

Relevant Council Communications

Fort - Related Links


City of Des Moines logo

City of Des Moines, Iowa
Parks and Recreation