A History of Bondurant, Iowa

This storymap presents a very brief overview of the history of Bondurant and how it became the town we know it as today. The sections are briefly outlined below, and can be navigated to by scrolling or with the tabs above.

• Before Bondurant provides some contextual information on the geological, environmental, and Indigenous history of the area before it became the town of Bondurant. You can explore some native prairie plants still found in the area with the interactive sidecar.
• Bondurant Becomes a Town narrates briefly the story of Alexander Bondurant and how he came to found a town in Iowa as well as the stories of a few notable buildings from the town's past. You can use the interactive slider to see how the town has grown.
• A History of the Downtown describes a few significant locations from the downtown area and tells the stories of how they came to be what they are today.
• Civic Organizations provides a list of some notable groups in Bondurant in an interactive slideshow display.
• A Network of Transportation and Commerce describes how the railroad and later on the Interstate and highway systems connect Bondurant to the outside world.
• Finally, Bondurant Today: A Tour is an interactive experience that presents contemporary photos and descriptions of some areas in the downtown. This tour can be experienced through the interactive map, and is also designed to be easily walkable starting from the Public Library.

This section gives a brief overview of the environment and history of Bondurant before it became a town. The purpose is to provide some context for the area before Alexander Bondurant arrived and developed the land into the town it is today as well as acknowledging Bondurant's small part in the long history of North America.

Iowa’s current landscape was formed by ice sheets which advanced many times beginning about 2.5 million years ago. These glacial advances carried soil and rocks from other areas which were compressed into the ground by the weight of the glaciers, or were released as the ice melted, leaving deposits called glacial drift. The repeated advances transformed the land by filling valleys with drift, flattening hills, and creating new waterways of melting ice.  

Polk County lies within a geographic region known as the Des Moines Lobe: a long strip across the north-central part of the state which was glaciated most recently between 15,000 and 12,000 years ago. The Des Moines lobe is defined by three different advances: the earliest and farthest reaching was the Bemis Advance, which Polk County is located within. Later advances were the Altamont Advance and the Algona Advance which did not reach as far south as Polk County. Each of these advances left morainal ridges which show the parallel outlines of the glacier’s reach.  

The result of the Des Moines Lobe’s action on the landscape is a region of relatively flat land within which the majority of the state’s lakes and wetlands are located. Other areas of the state which were glaciated longer ago have had more time to erode and develop drainage networks. A topographical map of the state clearly shows the drastic effect of the Des Moines lobe and the outlines of its end moraines. 

Use the arrows to explore some of the many plants native to the tallgrass prairie that are found around Bondurant today.

Iowa has been home to many different native peoples and cultures throughout history. The earliest know people to inhabit the area were PaleoIndians present during the last glacial period between 13,000 and 10,500 years ago. We know that these people were nomadic big game hunters who followed herds of animals such as mammoth, mastodon, caribou, and long-horned bison, though their diet included small game and foraged plants as well.  

The next period of human settlement is know as the Archaic Period which last from about 10,500 to 2,800 years ago. The climate had become warmer during this period and many of the megafauna hunted by the PaleoIndians had become extinct. People became somewhat more settled, but still traveled seasonally and followed herds of bison. A wide variety of tools from this period have been found in Iowa, including projectile points, grinding tools, and fish hooks.  

The next period of human inhabitation was the Woodland period, which ranged from about 2,800 years ago to 1,000 years ago. During this time, trade systems were developed across long distances and the practice of burial mounds building was established. Many of these mounds are concentrated in the eastern part of the state along the Mississippi River, however, mounds have also been found further west in Des Moines and Fort Dodge.  

During the Late Prehistoric Period (A.D. 900-1600), settlements and farming became more established and cultures of the Oneota tradition developed. The Oneota are the ancestors of the traditional tribes of Iowa, including the Ioway and the Otoe. Other prehistoric groups who once lived in Iowa but seem to have left the state are known as the Great Oasis and Mill Creek. 

The Ioway and Otoe tribes inhabited Iowa from prehistory onward and were living there when European settlers first entered the area. The Otoe were encountered by French explorers in  the Des Moines River area around 1700. As Europeans pushed westward, many tribes from east of the Mississippi were displaced into Iowa. Because of this, a diverse range of native peoples have lived in Iowa for periods of time. The Meskwaki Tribe arrived in Iowa from Wisconsin and Michigan in 1730 and are still present in the state today.  

In 1857, at the age of 28,  a man from Sangamon County, IL named Alexander Conley Bondurant came to Polk County and made a claim to three hundred and twenty acres in the southwest of Franklin Township. He cleared the land, turned up the untilled prairie soil, and laid the foundation of what became the largest holdings in the county, eventually covering an area of twenty-five hundred acres with a prosperous farm and beautiful home.

The town of Bondurant isn’t named after Alexander just because he built a lovely house; Alexander C. Bondurant is also remembered for the many generous donations he made to his community. He sold land to raise money for church congregations in Altoona and Bondurant and offered small plots of land to any business looking to open in the town’s center. When the  Chicago Great Western Railroad  company began surveying the area, Alexander made sure the new train line came through this growing community by offering the company some of his land free of charge. He then donated the land on which would be built  the general store  and 40 acres on which there would be built a  church , right in his own backyard.

On December 23, 1897, the Town of Bondurant was officially incorporated and named after the citizen who had done so much to help its growth.  

(Scroll down for more information)

Built in an Italianate style in 1857, Alexander Bondurant’s home exemplifies the spirit of the town of Bondurant today. Despite its modest appearance, the careful touches of luxury in the home’s design remind us of the interconnectedness of commerce and transportation with the “hometown” history of Bondurant and Polk County. Minute details such as the carved gable vents and Grecian porch pillars were likely purchased in Chicago, allowing for a speculative study into the possible interior aesthetic of the home, which was unfortunately lost to a fire in 1917.  

Relying on exterior indications of materials sourced from Chicago, in addition to invaluable work done by the Chicago Historical Society in relation to furniture craftsmen of the period, a few solid assumptions can be made about the manner of décor in the home. Considering the distance from Chicago and the lack of railroad transportation to the Polk Country area until the late 19th century, Bondurant would have relied “joiner” furniture- the pieces of which would have been manufactured separately and fitted together later on. Woodword would have been simple, local softwood of a “national” character (likely pine,) and the walls would have been painted in “harmonious” muted tones. With small nods toward luxury, the home would have been tactfully decorated to imply status while still allow Bondurant’s humble and community-minded spirit to utilize his wealth toward the community as a whole.

This home was built by Thomas Anderson, a carpenter in the town of Bondurant and a member of one of the first families when the town was established. Thomas Anderson is believed to have arrived in the United States in 1880 from Ireland when he was about twenty years old.

In approximately 1882 he was married to Mirriam “Minnie” Currough and soon they had a child together in 1886 named for his father. Unfortunately, tragedy struck little under two years later in 1888 when Thomas Anderson Jr. passed away from Measles complications. The Bondurant Cemetery was established soon after when Thomas Anderson Sr. asked Alexander Bondurant to allow him a plot to bury Jr.. Jr. was the first individual buried in the cemetery. It is held as town legend in Bondurant that Anderson then constructed a home near the cemetery with a window facing directly toward Jr's grave so that Minne could see it.

It was built with Anderson’s signature three window motif in the attic, a motif carried by all the homes he built in Bondurant, many of which were for his other children.  The house has since been remodeled and the three windows no longer remain.

The church came before the town. It even came before many other buildings. For a long while, the town with the church was Altoona, where Alexander Bondurant had helped establish a church in 1870. Bondurant donated money to several churches and schools throughout his life, and acted on the Board of Trustees for the Christian Church-aligned Drake University.

A decade after establishing the church in Altoona, Bondurant gave the Chicago & Great Western railroad permission to survey and later carve through the land and donated 40 acres to build a church where the town of Bondurant would soon be founded. Fundraising efforts, flea markets, veggie stalls selling crops grown on the property, as well as “rallies and revivals.” Before this, church took place above the general store.

Generally, the original building of the Bondurant Christian Church followed common architectural trends for rural churches in Iowa. The church was built in a vernacular style known as the "steepled ell," characterized by “its two broad wings, creating a large interior space,” its ell shape, and its offset steeple (Jennings and Gottfried 392). The gables in such a church are broad, allowing for multiple window configurations, gable finishing, a collar beam, and porthole window, as depicted in the images below.

In 1932, the Bondurant Christian Church burned down. There is no information as to the circumstances, but considering the materials and environment, those who have lived on the prairie for generations can tell you what can happen between wood and harsh weather. The members of the church briefly merged with the Congregationalist Church, to form the Bondurant Federated Church in 1937. In 1951, a new Christian Church was constructed, upon the site where the old one had burned.

The Trailhead

The Bondurant Regional Trailhead building was originally used as a train station for the Chicago Great Western Railway beginning in 1883. Trains would be coming through Bondurant from Chicago and ending at Kansas City, bringing in a wealth of commerce and transporting people as well. 

While the railway ceased all operation in 2005, the Trailhead remains an important centerpiece that is still used as a congregation space in downtown Bondurant. Members of the public can reserve the space inside of the pavilion for outdoor community gatherings.

In 1884, the first General Store was finished in Bondurant, all thanks to A.C. Bondurant and W.T. Hudson, they built their store in the center of town on the corner of First and Main. The building, most likely made of brick with wood millwork for doors, windows, and support, was the most important and inviting building in town (Jackson 2). Of course, at the time, it was the only building. But this centralized location of the general store paved the way for what Main Street would eventually become. Sadly, this building would burn down in 1910.

14 Main Street was built in 1908. This two-story brick storefront was just up the street from the original general store and at the time, it was a grocery store, so no one went without access to fresh produce, sugar, flour, or protein in the wake of the fire in 1910. As the years progressed it would become the local bank, the post office, a hardware store, a café, and currently the Farm Financing Bureau.

As business was booming in Bondurant and the economy was reaching new heights, more and visitors were beginning to come and go. In 1911, Dr. Porter bought the lot caddy corner to the original general store. He built a hotel on the lot, and it was finished and opened for business in 1913. The first floor contained his own offices and rooms were upstairs, providing some comfort and quiet to the traveling businessmen and out of town family members visiting their relatives.

By this time in Bondurant’s history, the locals would no longer be picking their mail up at the General Store. Instead, a post office would have taken up a store front of its own, in fact, it was located on 103 Main Street. However, this wasn’t always the post office. Long before it was a post office it was home to a barber shop in the 1910s and 20s and in the 60s it became Lewis Tool and Die, a hardware store for the many handymen and carpenters in need of nuts and bolts and screws.

Lloyd Elson, a member of the Bondurant community who lived on his family farm with his wife Margaret and their children, wanted to support the people he had known and grown up with. In 1976, he donated the funds for the first ever library. So, 103 Main Street, transformed into a hub of education and entertainment for the town. Not only did this new and lively business allow easier access to knowledge and facts, it also opened up the small town to media and entertainment and gave a glimpse into the goings-on in much larger metropolitan areas and cities.

Check out the interactive map down below to see the locations of some historical sites in Bondurant!

Beginning with Alexander Bondurant's efforts in the latter half of the 1800s to develop community, values, and commerce in his small settlement, the civic organizations of today's Bondurant demonstrate how the town continues and expands on his work. The town has now grown at an exponential rate, however it retains its Hometown Feel by means of the people in it and their devotion to the Bondurant community. This section contains information about the community groups currently in operation in Bondurant.

Bondurant has a rich history of commercial enterprise both within and apart from the downtown. Beginning with the railroad, we can see how these commercial and transportation networks have evolved through time.

In 1892 the Chicago Great Western Railroad opened a new station on Alexander Bondurant’s land and named it after him in recognition of his gift.

As a town that was built and founded on the railroad and centered around working on it and for it, Bondurant had to evolve as the interstate and highway systems cut across the state. Businesses no longer needed to be centralized within a town, although many still were, but quick shops and gas stations were built on the outskirts to make it easy for travelers to stop and get back on the road quickly. Because of this, gas stations would have been a necessity. An early example of this was Butler's Service Center, a gas station located about a mile east of Main Street. Butler’s Service Center was more than just a Phillip’s 66 that customers could fill their cars up at and grab new oil or fluid. They also carried a selection of groceries and meats as well as Armstrong and Dunlap Tires.

Today, Bondurant, Iowa, continues to expand rapidly. It’s changed immensely, but it’s hard to deny some of the similarities to historical business and community centers. The new Amazon warehouse on the outskirts of town is in many ways a shiny new version of the town’s first ever store—the  General Store . From the convenience of being able to get everything a person could need in one place to the job opportunities that both have provided to the community that was built and continues to grow around them, it’s easy to see how closely they resemble one another.

Andrews, L.F. Pioneers of Polk County, Iowa, and Reminiscences of Early Days. Vol. 2. v. 2. Baker-Trisler, 1908. Excerpt from  https://www.cityofbondurant.com/about-bondurant/pages/alexander-c-bondurant  

Braden, Donna. “Shopping at an 1880s General Store”. The Henry Ford Organization,  https://www.thehenryford.org/explore/blog/shopping-at-an-1880s-general-store#:~:text=Jones%20sold%20everything%20here%20that,socialize%2C%20and%20pick%20up%20mail . Accessed 23 October 2023.

Carl F. Mahnke Productions. Map of Polk County, Iowa: Showing towns, cities, townships, U.S. state & county parks, paved U.S., state & county roads. 1978. University of Iowa Libraries Map Collection, Iowa City. 

Darling, Sharon. Chicago Furniture: Art, Craft, & Industry 1833-1983. The Chicago Historical Society in association with W.W. Norton & Company, 1984.

DeFazio, Frank A. Bondurant A Centennial Celebration 1884-1984. Bondurant, City of  Bondurant, 1984. 

Foster, Lance M. The Indians of Iowa. University of Iowa Press. 2009. 

Harwood, Deborah. Map of Downtown Bondurant. 2022. Bondurant Historical Society, Bondurant.

Iowa Highway Commission. Map of Polk County Iowa. 1905. University of Iowa Libraries Map Collection, Iowa City. 

Jennings, Jan and Herbert Gottfried. American Vernacular Interior Architecture, 1870-1940: An Illustrated Guide. New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1988.

Map of Polk County, Iowa, 1878. 1878. University of Iowa Libraries Map Collection, Iowa City.

Mutel, Cornelia F. The Emerald Horizon: The History of Nature in Iowa, University of Iowa Press, 2007.  

Prior, Jean C. Landforms of Iowa. University Of Iowa Press, 1991.

Sims, Ronald. Farmer's Elev. Co. 5202 Bondurant, IA. July 9, 1988. From the John P. Vander Maas Railroadiana Collection, MsC 0468 (Series XIIIA: Photos from Large Scrapbooks) Box 598. University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections, Iowa City. 

Sims, Ronald. Farmers Elevator Co. Bondurant, IA. September 8, 1986. From the John P. Vander Maas Railroadiana Collection, MsC 0468 (Series XIIIA: Photos from Large Scrapbooks) Box 586. University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections, Iowa City. 

Whittaker, William E., et al. The Archaeological Guide to Iowa, University of Iowa Press, 2015.