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Fine early view of Des Moines from A.T. Andeas' Illustrated Atlas of the State of Iowa. One of the earliest views to depict the City of Des Moines.
Lithographed in Chicago by Edward Shober, Andreas' atlas of Iowa is a fine example of the boom in the publication of County and State Atlases in the midwest, beginning in the 1870s. The view identifies 30 points of interest within the town, and shows a number of bridges and railroad lines.
The view depicts a booming city at the confluence of the Des Moines River and the Racoon River, and the site of Captain James Allen's fort Des Moines, built in 1843, and abandoned in 1846. Des Moines was incorporated as a city in 1851, and became the State Capital in 1857. The town began its first major boom following the conclusion of the Civil War, when the first railroad line reached the town in 1866.
