TheWaukeeSquare

This week in Waukee

• Waukee Walkers
  Tue, Oct 27 · 5 PM · Triumph Park near the playground
• First Responders Appreciation Breakfast
  Wed, Oct 28 · 7 AM · RJ Lawn Lawn & Landscape 655 Interstate Pkway Waukee
• Halloween Trivia
  Wed, Oct 28 · 6 PM · Jethro's BBQ & Jumbalaya 9350 University Ave West Des Moines
• See How Waukee Works
  Thu, Oct 29 · 6 PM · At various city buildings
• Beyond the Lanes
  Wed, Nov 4 · 7:30 AM · Waukee Chamber of Commerce office 420 6th St

About Waukee

Waukee started in 1869, when General Lewis A. Grant and Major William Ragan bought land where the Des Moines Valley Railroad had just promised to lay track. They called the place Shirley, but the railroad's office in Keokuk wanted a different name, and the town became Waukee. Coal built the next chapter: the Shuler Mine opened in 1921 and became Iowa's biggest coal producer, and Italian, Croatian and Swedish families settled in camps nearby until the mine closed in 1949. That history still shows, from the coal mine museum inside the public library to a 13-foot 'black diamond' sculpture and Alice's Road, named for Alice Nizzi of the beloved SpaghettiLand restaurant. Families gather under the gazebo in Triangle Park downtown, and bike riders set off from the Raccoon River Valley Trail trailhead beneath a railroad-themed pergola. Today Waukee is the fastest-growing city in Iowa, home to more than 31,000 people and two high schools.

Nearby Squares

• The Urbandale Square
• The Van Meter Square
• The Dallas Center Square
• The Adel Square
• The West Des Moines Square
• The Johnston Square