There are three options for locating a Drake Neighborhood historic property:

  • Keyword search - Type your search into the form at the upper right corner of any page on this site
  • Guided browsing - Browse through key information like resident, street, and building type
  • Map search - (not yet active) Find a property or properties using the online map application

Dig through your photos, locate your abstract, and do historic research from home!

Anyone can add historical information, stories, old photos, and documents relating to Drake homes! Sign up for an account to participate in building our historical knowledge about the Drake Neighborhood by adding information to the public record.

Help identify unknown buildings - You can add and link information from the comfort of your own home, no experience or historic knowledge required!

Are you interested in neighborhood history? We have several opportunities to get involved with this research project:

  • Help input historic data to this website
  • Help identify buildings in historic photos
  • Organize an "abstract party" at your house
  • And much more!

Contact a project organizer for more information.

Volunteer

Anyone with an interest in history (or just helping out the neighborhood on a fantastic project) is encouraged to contact one of the project managers to volunteer. Whether you are available for 2 hours, 20 hours, or 200 hours we can find a place for you to contribute!

There are many volunteer tasks - see the full list below. The tasks are divided into "research" and "organization." If you have an interest in helping out, please contact volunteer project manager Steve Wilke-Shapiro.

We Want Your Help!

This online database is a living and growing project! The more information we have, the more useful this database will be to residents and historians.

If you have information about any of the buildings or historic residents of the Drake Neighborhood, there are two ways you can add it to the database:

  1. Sign up for an account to edit an existing entry, add new information, or upload scanned photos.
  2. Contact one of the Project Managers to arrange a transfer of information.

The Drake Neighborhood Historic Survey project is looking for

  • Old photos of Drake Neighborhood residents and buildings
  • Information about former Drake Neighborhood residents
  • Information about Drake Neighborhood buildings

Gillette, Edward H.

Submitted by admin on Wed, 2011-10-26 15:19
Personal Information
Born: 
1840-10-01
Died: 
1918-08-14
Group: 
Notable Residents

Edward Hooker Gillette (October 1, 1840 – August 14, 1918) was a nineteenth-century populist politician and editor from Iowa. He was elected on the Greenback Party ticket to represent Iowa's 7th congressional district for only one term in Congress, but remained active in populist political movements. Gillette was the son of Senator Francis Gillette and Elisabeth Daggett Hooker, a descendant of Rev. Thomas Hooker, and the brother of actor/playwright William Gillette.

Source: Wikipedia entry, accessed October 26, 2011.

Linked Information: 

Gillette, Sophia Stoddard

Submitted by admin on Wed, 2011-10-26 15:16
Personal Information
Born: 
1845-03-09

Source: 1892 City Directory, confirmed by information in the attached eulogy (see below)

Also known as "Sophie".

Sophia's husband, Edward H. Gillette, was elected to Congress to represent the Des Moines district in 1878 and served for two years.

Linked Information: 

Oral History: Donald Wine

Submitted by admin on Fri, 2011-10-21 10:59

[The following oral history documents the experiences of Drake University student Donald Wine in the early 1940's - attending Drake University and living in what is now the Drake neighborhood.]

Name: Donald Wine
Date of Interview: November 7, 2010
Location: Wine home, 2930 Druid Hill Drive, Des Moines, IA.
Interviewer: Grady Reuler
Project: Drake Neighborhood Association Historical Survey

Kavanaugh, Marcus Jr.

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2011-09-05 22:52
Personal Information
Occupation: 
Builder/Construction

Source: 1892 City Directory

Rail road contractor. Resided at 1152 21st with Louis J. Kavanaugh, Thomas Kavanaugh, and domestic Annie Kelly.

Linked Information: 

1344 25TH ST

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2011-09-05 22:29
Location
Building Status: 
Non-Extant
Address Number: 
1344
Street Name: 
23TH
Street Type: 
ST
City: 
Des Moines
Zip Code: 
50311

Address no longer exists, incorporated into Drake University campus.

Resident Name: 
Keenan, Michael W.
Source: 
1892 City Directory

1239 25TH ST

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2011-09-05 22:18
Location
Building Status: 
Non-Extant
Address Number: 
1239
Street Name: 
25TH
Street Type: 
ST
City: 
Des Moines
Zip Code: 
50311

Address no longer exists, incorporated into Drake University campus.

Resident Name: 
Patterson, Alexander
Source: 
1892 City Directory
Resident Name: 
Witt, Frank L.
Source: 
1892 City Directory

1034 25TH ST

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2011-09-05 22:06
Location
Building Status: 
Non-Extant
Address Number: 
1034
Street Name: 
25TH
Street Type: 
ST
City: 
Des Moines
Zip Code: 
50311

Address no longer exists. Parcels were combined to create 2500 Kingman.

Resident Name: 
Downing, Alexander G.
Source: 
1892 City Directory

2204 SCHOOL ST

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2011-09-05 21:40
Location
Building Status: 
Non-Extant
Address Number: 
2204
Street Name: 
SCHOOL
Street Type: 
ST
Zip Code: 
50311

Address no longer exists.

Resident Name: 
Turner, John C.
Source: 
1892 City Directory

Lockwood, Hendricks

Submitted by admin on Tue, 2011-08-30 01:06
Personal Information
Occupation: 
University Student

Source: 1892 City Directory

Student at Drake University. Roomed at 1174 24th (address no longer in existence).

Linked Information: 

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