This week in Johnston
About Johnston
Johnston got its start in 1905 as Johnston Station, a stop on the interurban line running from Des Moines to Perry, and it took its name from the railroad's freight supervisor, John F. Johnston. Camp Dodge, begun in 1907 as a training ground for the National Guard, swelled into a major training center during the First World War and still serves as the Iowa National Guard's headquarters inside the city. Johnston did not incorporate until 1969, and from a couple hundred residents in 1970 it grew past 24,000 by 2020, with Pioneer Hi-Bred and Iowa PBS calling it home. Families head to Terra Park for its eight-acre fishing lake, accessible playgrounds and trails, or to Johnston Commons by the library, where a 1902 farmhouse and its clay-tile barn were moved to become the historical society's museum. Kites fill the sky over the Commons each May, and every June the town gathers at Terra Park for Green Days.