James Jordan and the house that tells the district's deepest story

If Valley Junction has a founding figure, it is James C. Jordan. The district’s official history says the community’s development was sparked by Jordan, a prosperous cattle owner whose home was also a stop on the Underground Railroad. West Des Moines Historical Society materials go further, saying Jordan was regarded as the “Chief Conductor” for Polk County during the antebellum period.  Jordan’s significance is larger than one house. A West Des Moines neighborhood pattern book says he pitched a tent in Walnut Township in 1846, later built a cabin and then the Jordan House, and became one of the most influential people in the founding of Valley Junction. That same source says he helped bring the railroad into the area, which tied his personal story directly to the district’s later commercial rise.  The Underground Railroad story gives the house moral weight as well as historical interest. The West Des Moines Historical Society says the Jordan House served as a stop on the Underground Railroad and that Jordan’s abolitionist convictions were sharpened by experiences earlier in life. It also says the site preserves both Underground Railroad history and the story of the regular railroad that later helped shape the district.  That dual railroad symbolism is one of the most compelling things about Valley Junction. In one direction, the Jordan House represents escape, secrecy, and courage. In the other, the railroads that later crossed nearby represent commerce, expansion, and the birth of a downtown. The district’s story is therefore not only commercial. It is also ethical and human. That is an inference, but it is strongly supported by the official district and historical-society accounts.  The Jordan House remains active in the district’s wider historical imagination. West Des Moines’ own history page points people to the Jordan House Museum to learn more about the city’s past, and recent coverage noted that the museum launched virtual tours in 2025 while continuing in-person guided visits. The house is not a dead relic on the edge of the story. It is still one of the ways the district explains itself.  So one of the strongest Valley Junction stories is about the way James Jordan ties together the district’s oldest moral narrative and its later commercial one. His house tells you Valley Junction was never only a rail-and-retail story. From the beginning, the place held questions of courage, freedom, movement, and belonging.