“People are starting to realize that to get to [Jordan Creek] mall and to area businesses, coming off I-80 at Grand Prairie and taking Mills Civic is a faster way than fighting all the traffic on Jordan Creek Parkway,” he said. “Also, the population west of 86th Street has increased because of all the new developments.”

West Des Moines this year is widening Mills Civic about three-fourths of a mile west, from South 81th Street to South 91st Street. The new three-lane street is being routed several hundred feet north of the cemetery. In addition, South 88th Street is being widened north and south of the intersection.

When the $7.2 million project is completed, Huston Cemetery will no longer be in the middle of the road. Instead it will be southwest of the intersection.

The construction project includes adding a small parking lot and walking path to the cemetery.
“It will be easier and safer for people to visit the cemetery,” Hemesath said. 

The cemetery is named after James B. Huston, who arrived in Iowa around 1847, according to a page on West Des Moines website. Huston was the first Dallas County attorney. The family’s home, which still stands near the intersection of 88th Street and Mills Civic, served as a stagecoach station, tavern and post office. The house was also a stop on the Underground Railroad. 

The first two occupants of the cemetery were two young girls, both former slaves, whose family was headed to California. Also buried in the cemetery are Huston, his wife, Nancy, and six of their children. Huston, who died in 1889, is believed to be the last person buried in the cemetery, which is cared for by the West Des Moines parks department and members of a nonprofit group. 

Construction of the Mills Civic extension is expected to be completed by late November, Hemesath said.