Entry No. 25 — the Des Moines file — filed under: outdoor
Huston Cemetery
“the city rerouted the road around it (not the other way)”
A tiny pioneer graveyard of about 11 graves, established 1847, that became locally legendary for sitting marooned in the middle of a road — cars kept crashing into it. In 2019 the city rerouted the road around it (not the other way), so it now sits just southwest of the intersection. Its namesake ran a stagecoach stop, a saloon, and an Underground Railroad station.
The story
In 1847, James B. Huston set up a tiny family burial plot on land where he also operated a stagecoach stop, a tavern, and a secret sanctuary along the Underground Railroad. For well over a century, the eleven-grave plot rested quietly on prairie soil. But as West Des Moines crept outward into Dallas County, modern suburban asphalt caught up with 19th-century memory. Instead of exhuming the dead when the grid expanded, civil engineers laid the pavement straight around them.
That decision created Iowa's legendary 'cemetery in the middle of the road'—a tiny island of headstones marooned dead-center in the intersection of S 88th Street and Mills Civic Parkway. Cars had to navigate around the iron-fenced plot like an impromptu, high-stakes traffic circle. After years of vehicles clipping the perimeter and crashing into the site, the city conceded that traffic physics was winning the argument.
In 2019, West Des Moines finally resolved the hazard—not by digging up Huston and his family, but by physically rerouting the road itself. Engineers curved the intersection around the plot, landing the historical graveyard safely on the southwest roadside corner with a restored fence. The dead stayed put; the asphalt yielded.
What it's like
Pull into the small parking pull-off on the southwest corner of S 88th Street and Mills Civic Parkway, step out, and slip through the gate of the restored iron fence. You're standing on an unlit, single-acre plot with just eleven weathered headstones, mere feet from passing commuter traffic. Visit during clear daylight so you can read the worn 1800s inscriptions without squinting. It takes under fifteen minutes to take in the whole site, so treat it as an active burial ground—keep your voices down, don't lean on the stones, and admire the sheer stubbornness of a pioneer graveyard that made a city move its road.
The move: Make a quick offbeat pilgrimage to read all eleven headstones, then tell the story of how this one-acre graveyard was so stubborn the city literally moved the road for it.
📍 Before you go It now sits on the southwest corner of S 88th Street and Mills Civic Parkway, with a restored fence and a small parking pull-off, so you no longer have to dodge traffic to reach it. Come in daylight: the plot is tiny, unlit, and the whole point is reading the weathered headstones, so a clear afternoon works best. Treat it as the active burial ground it is: step in quietly, don't lean on the stones, and keep it short. It's only minutes from Jordan Creek Town Center off I-80 exit 121, so pair the pilgrimage with a meal, a drink, or a wander through Valley Junction's antique shops.
- 📍 West Des Moines (S 88th St & Mills Civic Pkwy)
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Pair it with
- The Operating Room — Follow up a quiet pioneer graveyard pit stop with pinball and scrubs-clad bartenders at this medical-themed barcade under three miles away.
- The Atlas Room — Head three miles east into Valley Junction after your roadside stop to hunt down this hidden speakeasy tucked inside a salon.
- Valley Junction's Hidden Red-Light History (5th Street) — Pair 1840s Underground Railroad pioneer history with a stroll down 5th Street to spot traces of Valley Junction's rowdy 1890s saloon district.
Good to know
Where is Huston Cemetery located?
It sits on the southwest corner of S 88th Street and Mills Civic Parkway in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Was the cemetery really in the middle of the road?
Yes. Before a 2019 road reconfiguration project, the cemetery sat in the center of the intersection because paved roads were originally built around the 1847 plot.
Who was James B. Huston?
He was the cemetery's namesake, an early settler who ran a stagecoach stop, a saloon, and an Underground Railroad station on the property.
Is there an entry fee or designated parking?
It is completely free to visit. The city added a small parking pull-off right at the southwest corner, making it easy to park and walk up safely.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Atlas Obscura · Roadside America · desmoinesregister.com · wdm.iowa.gov
last checked: 2026-06-06