The Cemetery in the Middle of the Road

Huston Cemetery – 3401 Mills Civic Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50266

A little cemetery in the middle of the road,

a round about to be exact.

No burying ground will stand in the way of progress. And this little cemetery is no exception. It is no longer in the road – 2021

The little cemetery is located in West Des Moines Iowa, just west of Jordan Creek Mall on 88th and Mills Civic Parkway. The Huston Cemetery no longer sits in a farm field, it was the center of a very busy intersection that got busier every year. The intersection has been re-routed around the cemetery. It is located at the Southwest corner of the intersection and it will be restored to its original country cemetery quaintness.

The cemetery is named for James B. Huston who settled in Iowa in 1847. He was an early settler of Dallas County and was the first attorney in the county. The family home was a stage coach station, a tavern, post office and a stop on the underground railroad. The first people buried in the cemetery were slave girls on their way to freedom. Other accounts say they were girls of the Harper family on their way to California by wagon train. The cemetery includes graves of James Huston, his wife Nancy and six children.

Many sources report there are eleven graves, mostly family members of the Huston’s. It looks like there are more stones in this little cemetery, but that seems to be the official number. Mr Huston, who passed away in January 29, 1889, was reportedly the last burial. It has also suffered damage from vehicles crashing into the cemetery by drivers not realizing it was there. The decorative wrought iron fence was removed and a chain link fence was put in its place. The city of West Des Moines takes care of the maintenance including mowing, trimming and repairs. A non profit organization headed by James Huston’s great granddaughter decorates the cemetery. A sign that was posted here but was destroyed by a car crash read “First burial here in 1847, two small daughters of the Harper family, going by wagon train to California. Became private cemetery of J. B. Huston family. Stage route ran by cemetery. Mr. Huston ran station and Post Office ½ mile east. He was first Dallas County Attorney. The stage route (Iowa City, Des Moines, Council Bluffs) was abandoned 1867 when railroads came.”

Today the cemetery is not in the middle of a road anymore.

The new road construction got under way to re-route the road to the north of the cemetery in 2016. The nearby fields were cleared and new fire hydrants were put in place. The cemetery is now a little country cemetery close to a high traffic suburban road and not left abandoned in the middle of the road. There is a newly poured concrete parking lot to the south and a sidewalk encompassing the fenced cemetery. According to the West Des Moines web page, the city plans to reconstruc the decorative metal fence that originally surrounded it.

It was pretty unique being in the center of the road. Although it is not in the country anymore, it is once again a peaceful cemetery that is accessible and protected from traffic.

All photos by abandonedexplorers.com ©

Source information WDM

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