By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Nobody expected Des Moines to grow as much as it has -- certainly not those living there when the town was settled or when it adopted its name in 1889. But grow it has, doubling in population in only a decade.

Annexation has been Des Moines' principal means of growth since its beginning. The most recent are Redondo and neighboring Woodmont. The communities, with a population of 4,600, became part of Des Moines in January after voting last year to be annexed to their larger neighbor to the north.

While many newcomers aren't aware of the community's rich history, others have labored to make sure it isn't forgotten. The city published a history, "One Hundred Years of the Waterland Community," in 1989. It was edited by former mayor Richard Kennedy, who also developed the city's elaborate computer Web site, http://www.ci.des-moines.wa.us/

The city takes its name from the Des Moines Improvement Co., which operated in the area more than 100 years ago. The company in turn had been named by one of its principals for his Iowa hometown.

Des Moines was built around a sawmill but was home to varied commercial interests in its early years, a time when residents were hopeful the community would become the state capital.

One early resident was Herman "Daddy" Draper, who operated a home for orphaned children at the turn of the century. He taught the children how to play musical instruments and formed a band that performed throughout the area. Des Moines Beach Park is located on land he bought as a playground for the children.

Many historic buildings remain.

Some, such as the log cabin-style Des Moines Field House, are still in use. The field house was built in 1938 as part of a Depression-era recovery program and now houses the city's parks department and serves as a recreational facility.

Kennedy says Des Moines is not only getting bigger, it's getting better. He hails the cultural diversity that has come with growth.

"It was primarily a white suburb back in the late 1950s," he says. "Now it is quite multicultural. We have gone from a small, almost semirural town into true suburbia."

These days that's not a curse, but a blessing.

"We still have that good neighborhood feeling," Mike Waters, the local Chamber of Commerce director, adds. "If you are walking downtown, people make eye contact and say hello. And that's not true everywhere you go. We have maintained the sense of community. We are on the right track."

Continued:

• City by the water has kept its traditions despite growth
• "Waterland" community is ready and willing to fight about it
• The debate over tourists: Love 'em or leave 'em?
• The highway's byways that no one really wants to talk about
• A lot of young outlooks in a city favored by retirees