APWA Iowa Chapter Fall Conference Ames, Iowa September 11, 2014

 In 1863, John Blair (Cedar Rapids and Missouri RR) selected the marshy area between the Squaw Creek and Skunk River for a depot as they looked to expand their railroad from Cedar Rapids to Council Bluffs  Site selected to serve the State College and Model Farm that had been located a couple miles west  Land was cheap because the Federal government found it to be “unusable swamp land”  December 17, 1864, Cynthia Duff deeded land to the railroad  Named after Oakes Ames, a Massachusetts Congressman

 The train depot was the first building in Ames, completed in 1865  Other area settlements included Bloomington and Ontario (New Philadelphia)  Ames was incorporated in 1870 with 844 residents

 March 22, 1858, a State College and Model Farm was established by the General Assembly, but no location was designated  June 21, 1859, Story County was chosen over Johnson, Kossuth, Marshall, and Polk Counties  Story County pledged over $21,000 in land and gifts  648 acres purchased from 5 landowners for about $8.30/acre  A home was constructed for Pres. Welch “due to the isolation of the college”  College area annexed to Ames in 1893  33 years after it was founded

 March 17, 1869, the first class of 173 students began (136 men, 37 women)  First graduating class in 1872 had 24 men and 2 women  Name changed to Iowa State University of Science and Technology in 1959

 Significant Influences:  Railroad  Squaw Creek  Mother Nature

 In June of 1865, the first scheduled passenger train arrives in Ames  Cedar Rapids and Missouri became the Chicago Northwestern (1884) and now the Union Pacific (1995)  Double main line tracks carry an average of 70 trains per day through the city  Most trains are cars  Ames and College Railway – known as the Dinkey  Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern Interurban Railroad  Electric street cars

Crossing Squaw Creek, headed for campus

30 lbs vs. 136 lbs

 Mother Nature had a major influence on the ability to get from the college to the community  Squaw Creek was a major barrier  Floods in 1918, 1944, 1947, 1954, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1975, 1984, 1993, 1998, 2005, 2008, 2010  Some thought Ontario should be the focus of community growth since it was on the railroad, no river to cross, and not much farther away from campus than Ames  An attempt was made to incorporate “West Ames” in the 1890’s as a means of getting urban services in the area south of campus where a large number of college staff had built homes.

 Boone Street (Lincoln Way) was the only direct connection as the community and college started  In 1914, the State Board of Control appropriated $2,000 to the College to work with Ames to open and improve 6 th Street through the railroad underpass that was created for flood protection  Money was spent elsewhere by the College but no one admitted where  Controversy over where the money went and who had the right to regulate buses between Ames and the College put the street connection project on hold

 In 1922, the College dedicated land to extend 9 th Street to the campus, but the City didn’t like it because houses would need to be purchased for the remainder of the right-of-way  In 1923, a committee was formed, including the Governor, to determine the best location for a new street  To reconcile with the college, the city council (many of whom were on staff at the college) passed a resolution on November 5, 1923 accepting the 9 th street connection  On November 19 th, Mayor T.L. Rice vetoed it  He chastised the college administrators for “being small men in large positions” and creating “fact decoys” by arguing that 9 th Street or even 13 th Street was better than 6 th Street  He also criticized the Council for being afraid to stand up to the college administrators for the good of the city

 The Governor’s committee reported in 1924 that 6 th Street was the best location due to the ability to use the flood control underpass  At the same time, Mayor Tice had a survey done and 59% of the respondents also wanted 6 th Street to be the connection because 13 th Street was too far north and 9 th Street would disrupt the neighborhood  A committee was formed to develop a design for 6 th Street  In 1947, 23 years later, the Highway Commission completed the design and it was approved by the City Council  Ben Cole & Son was awarded a $87,861 contract and the work was completed in 1950 – 36 years and about $85,000 later!!

Floods of 1975; 1984; 1993; 1998; 2005; 2008; and 2010

 Grand Avenue Underpass, 1938  Widening Lincoln Way, 1963

 Engineering and Street Departments joined in late 1950’s  Bill Whitman was the first Public Works Director  Bill moved out to become Facilities Director at ISU and Arnold Chantland was named Director in 1966  Arnie served until 1988 when I was appointed  I served until 2005 when John Joiner was appointed to his current position