While Ames, Iowa is the home of Iowa State University, there’s more history and more to do than what meets the eye. Read on to learn more about the city’s history, and what there is to do during your stay. 

History

True or False: the original city of Ames was only 12 blocks long. 

True — the city of Ames was only 12 blocks long in 1865, with the railroads servings as the city limits, according to the Ames Historical Society. The city was incorporated as a village in 1870, with about 700 residents. The population of Ames increased after the Civil War, and Iowans tend to trace their roots back to Ames between 1865 and 1870. 

Famous Ames Residents

Believe it or not, the people who invented the first digital computer, a plant scientist, a baseball player and a Titanic survivor all lived and worked in Ames at one point in their lives. 

John Atanasoff 

John Atanasoff was teaching math classes and working toward his master’s degree when he was a student at Iowa State. After receiving a $650 grant from the university in 1939, he began constructing the Atanasoff-Berry Computer, the first digital computer, according to the Iowa State computer science department. 

In 1948, the computer had been removed from Physics Hall and dismantled, but later, a reporter from the Des Moines Register published a story that revealed that Atanasoff had invented the computer Iowa State, and Atanasoff was honored at Iowa State in 1974. 

Atanasoff Hall on Iowa State’s campus is also named for him. 

George Washington Carver

Born into slavery in 1864, George Washington Carver came to Iowa to study art at Simpson College at Indianola, according to “The Legacy of George Washington Carver” by Toby Fishbein. He spent ample time in the woods exploring and became known as the ‘plant doctor’ growing up — which, perhaps, was why his art teacher encouraged him to pursue agriculture at the Iowa State College of Agriculture (now Iowa State University). 

Carver was the first African American faculty member at Iowa State and later joined the faculty at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. His passion for making education ‘common’ — accessible to all people — was what he instilled into his students, and his work resulted in the creation of 325 products from peanuts and other products made from plants native to the southern United States. 

Albert Caldwell

The new principal of Ames High School at the time, Albert Caldwell was one of two Ames residents who boarded the Titanic in 1912. In fact, his newborn baby played a role in his survival on the ship. 

According to the Ames Historical Society, Caldwell’s wife and newborn baby were placed on a lifeboat, but before Caldwell could get his baby on the boat, his wife pleaded with the lifeboat captain to let her husband on the boat and assist her with calming their baby. Caldwell was allowed on the boat and did, in fact, survive. 

Ada Hayden

The first woman to receive her doctorate from Iowa State, Ada Hayden was a botanist who grew up on an 80-acre farm that is now Ada Hayden Heritage Park in northwest Ames. According to the Ames Historical Society, Hayden worked with Louis Pammel, a conservationist and professor at Iowa State, on publishing botanical texts and drawings. 

Hayden was also the assistant curator of the herbarium at Iowa State, and collected and preserved over 40,000 plant specimens during her time at Iowa State and until her death in 1950. The herbarium was formally named after her in 1987, and the herbarium holds more than 640,000 specimens. 

Okay, now you’re here- what do you want to do? 

While Ames is home to Iowa State, there’s more to the city than the university alone. Here’s a list of a few sights to see and things to do when visiting the city of Ames:

Reiman Gardens

Located on the southeast side of campus, Reiman Gardens is home to flower gardens, butterflies and — the world’s largest garden gnome? 

Not only do the gardens host various events that bring visitors from around the city to take in the flowers and art pieces, Reiman Gardens is always changing, as the garden has an annual theme that it sticks to. It’s also home to herbs, roses, palm trees, art pieces and 800 butterflies in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing.

But back to the garden gnome- Elwood, as the gnome is called, is 15 feet tall and costs approximately $8,000. Elwood beat out Gnome Chomsky for the honor of tallest concrete gnome, and weighs about 3,500 pounds, according to atlasobscura.com.

Grant Wood Murals 

While he’s known for “American Gothic”, which hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago, Grant Wood’s largest piece is hanging in Parks Library, right on Iowa State’s campus. 

Wood was commissioned to paint the murals by the university and the Civil Works Administration, according to atlastobscura.com. Wood then chose Iowan painters to assist him with painting the murals. Having the murals in a space like a university library then allowed the university and the general public alike to enjoy the artist’s work right up close. 

High Trestle Bridge

The High Trestle Bridge passes through five towns and over the Des Moines River, and has a long history in the central Iowa region. The bridge is half a mile long and 130 feet high, and is said to be one of the longest trail bridges in the world, according to atlasobscura.com.

Originally used to carry freight for Union Pacific Railroad, the trail was funded by donations and grants and could be used by bikers, hikers and horseback riders, according to atlasobscura.com. In 2008, 20 miles of the trail were opened to the public.