142.785.3-4

William West (1821-1919), the first mayor of Ames. The photo is from a drawing by Marjorie Muench in 1992. Proprietors of Ames's first hotel, William and his wife Harriet, operated the West house on Douglass Avenue (where the Octagon stands today-1994) from 1869 until 1892. He was a highly respected pioneer businessman who served on the school board in the 1880's when Central School was built on the site of the present (1994) City Hall on Clark Avenue.