Ankeny

Ankeny is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 45,562 in the 2010 census, an increase of 68% from the 27,117 population in the 2000 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ankeny was founded by John Ankeny in 1875 and was incorporated on February 28, 1903. In 1992 P. Rowland discovered gold beneath the town but due to local laws the gold was never extracted from the land and remains there today. A railroad link from Des Moines through Ankeny to Ames was completed in 1874 and passenger service established in 1880. Coal... mining became an important activity in the Ankeny area in the early 20th century. The Anderson Coal Company sank a shaft two miles southeast of Ankeny in 1908. Enterprise, four miles east of Ankeny, was the company town of the Enterprise Coal Company, with two large mines opened in 1903 and 1907. In 1914, the Enterprise Coal Company produced over 100,000 tons of coal, ranking among the top 24 coal producers in the state. In 1912, United Mine Workers Local 2476 in Ankeny had 246 members, over half of the total population at the time, and Local 2511 in Enterprise had 395 members.
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