Where the Name Comes From
On Des Moines’ far east side, the Four Mile neighborhood takes its name from the landscape that shaped it: Four Mile Creek. The name is wonderfully practical, the kind of name early travelers might have used without imagining it would still identify a neighborhood nearly two centuries later.
In the era of Fort Des Moines, travelers heading along the road between the fort and communities to the east crossed the creek at a point about four miles from the military post. Historical accounts describe the crossing as an important early route and identify it as the source of the creek’s name. In time, “Four Mile” became attached not only to the waterway, but also to the surrounding township, roads, schools, parks, and neighborhood institutions.
Today, the Four Mile area is generally understood as the neighborhood surrounding Four Mile Creek and the Robert L. Scott Four Mile Community Center near Easton Boulevard. It sits among several east-side communities, including Gray’s Woods, and stretches toward the city limits near Pleasant Hill. Though neighborhood boundaries and associations have changed over the years, the creek remains the defining thread.
From Prairie Crossing to City Edge
Before streets, houses, and bridges, Four Mile Creek ran through a landscape of prairie, timber, wetlands, and gently rolling ground. The creek’s wooded banks offered shelter and water, while the nearby prairie provided open travel routes and farmland. Like much of Polk County, the area developed gradually as settlers arrived, roads improved, and small agricultural communities formed outside the growing capital city.
Four Mile Township became one of the rural districts surrounding Des Moines. The township’s identity was closely tied to the creek, which flowed north and south through Polk County before emptying into the Des Moines River. The waterway was useful, but it was also unpredictable. Flooding has always been part of Four Mile’s story, shaping where people built and reminding residents that the creek was a living force rather than merely a line on a map.
The area’s location also made it a natural crossroads. Roads such as Easton Boulevard, East University Avenue, East 33rd Street, Williams Street, and Hubbell Avenue connected Four Mile with the rest of Des Moines and with nearby communities. The old rural pattern did not disappear overnight. For decades, homes, wooded parcels, open land, and working properties existed side by side.
Schools, Families, and Community Life
One of the clearest signs of Four Mile’s transition from rural district to urban neighborhood was the arrival of public schools. In 1928, a former Camp Dodge housing unit was moved to the school grounds near East 38th Street and Easton Boulevard. It was initially called Four Mile School, apparently in recognition of the nearby creek. In 1931, the school was renamed Meredith School in honor of Des Moines publisher Edwin T. Meredith. The building later became Margaret McKee School, a name remembered by generations of east-side families.
McKee School was more than a place for lessons. Like many neighborhood schools of its era, it served as a gathering point, recreation site, and familiar landmark. Additions in the late 1940s and 1960s reflected the area’s growing population. By the 1970s, the school was part of a broader network that included Hoyt Middle School and other Des Moines schools.
The Robert L. Scott Four Mile Community Center, at 3711 Easton Boulevard, became another important anchor. The center has provided meeting rooms, a gym, game space, a kitchen, senior activities, and programs for children and families. Older city planning documents describe it as a place used for neighborhood meetings, recreation, arts and crafts, and activities for all ages.
That role continues today. The community center is the kind of building that may not appear on a list of grand architectural landmarks, but it represents the everyday heritage of Four Mile: school programs, neighborhood meetings, local celebrations, and the informal conversations that help a place feel like home.
Four Mile’s Parks and Natural Landmarks
The creek itself is Four Mile’s most enduring landmark. Along its banks, residents have watched spring snowmelt, summer storms, and autumn leaves pass through the neighborhood. Floods in 1937, 1944, 1956, 1981, 2004, and 2008 are part of the area’s documented history. The 2008 flooding was particularly significant across the Des Moines region, and the Four Mile Community Center served as an emergency gathering and shelter location.
In response to repeated flooding, public agencies have increasingly emphasized open space, stream restoration, and floodplain management. The Fourmile Creek Greenway now protects portions of the creek corridor, improves wildlife habitat, stabilizes stream banks, and creates opportunities for walking and biking. The greenway extends through the metro area and connects with regional trail facilities.
Four Mile Park, located near the community center, adds a distinctly modern layer to the neighborhood. The park includes recreation facilities and has been associated with Des Moines’ efforts to provide accessible neighborhood amenities, including a skate park. Nearby Strasser Woods and the wooded areas around the creek offer a quieter experience, preserving some of the natural character that existed before development.
For residents, these places are not simply recreational facilities. They are where children learn to ride bikes, neighbors walk after dinner, and families gather for events. The combination of creek, trail, woods, and community center gives Four Mile a more open and pastoral feel than many parts of the city.
Annexation and Neighborhood Change
During the twentieth century, Des Moines expanded steadily eastward. Formerly rural land was incorporated into the city, streets were paved, utilities extended, and new subdivisions filled in the spaces between older farmsteads and established roads. The Four Mile area became increasingly connected to the city while retaining reminders of its rural past.
The neighborhood’s development has never been entirely uniform. Some sections contain older homes and long-established families; others reflect later suburban growth. The nearby Gray’s Woods neighborhood plan described the area as having mature trees, wooded slopes, older homes, and a strong sense of family continuity. It also identified flooding, traffic, infrastructure, and property upkeep as continuing challenges.
In 2001, the city formally approved the Four Mile Addition plat, another indication of how the area continued to evolve through residential development.
Yet growth has not erased Four Mile’s identity. Easton Boulevard still serves as a familiar spine. The creek still determines the shape of trails and open land. The community center still provides a gathering place, and the school history remains part of the neighborhood’s collective memory.
What Makes Four Mile Special
Four Mile does not present its history with a single monumental courthouse, mansion, or commercial district. Its heritage is quieter and more deeply woven into daily life. It lives in the name of a creek, the alignment of old roads, the memories attached to McKee School, the trees along the greenway, and the generations who have gathered at the community center.
A longtime resident might point out the way the land dips toward Four Mile Creek, mention a family that has lived near Easton Boulevard for decades, or remember watching floodwater rise beneath a bridge. Those stories explain the neighborhood better than any boundary map.
Four Mile is a place shaped by movement: travelers crossing the creek, farmers bringing produce toward Des Moines, students walking to school, cyclists following the greenway, and families settling near the city’s edge. Its history is not frozen in the past. It continues every time neighbors care for the creek, use the parks, preserve local memories, or welcome a new family to the east side.