Seni Om Sed: Iowa Time Machine September 13, 1897

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On the evening of September 13, 1897, President William McKinley used an electronic button in Washington, D.C., to set off an explosion on a boat floating in the Des Moines River. This act marked the opening of Seni Om Sed, a backward spelling of Des Moines, and one of the most unusual celebrations ever staged in Iowa’s capital city.

Seni Om Sed began in 1888 as a companion festival to the Iowa State Fair, which had just relocated to its current east-side location. The fair itself remained firmly agricultural, but leaders of the Des Moines Commercial Exchange, a forerunner of the city’s chamber of commerce, sought to attract visitors with large-scale spectacles. The event included fireworks, music, and a performance by world-famous Iowan Ida Fuller, whose fire dances lit up the river from an enormous barge. For the thousands in attendance, it was a dazzling combination of politics, pageantry, and pyrotechnics.

The first year, 50,000 spectators watched as 70 elaborate floats rolled through the streets, accompanied by “thirty Mesquakie Indians from Tama in war paint and feathers,” cowboy performers, and frontier-themed displays. Over the next decade, the festival grew more ambitious. By 1889, the parade drew 85,000 onlookers and featured one of the world’s first electric vehicles, a battery-powered carriage created by local chemist William Morrison. Parades and pageants depicted grand scenes from history, including the fall of Rome, the destruction of Pompeii, and the arrival of the Mayflower.

After one final performance in 1898, Seni Om Sed disappeared from the Des Moines calendar. The name resurfaced in 1979, slightly altered to “Seniom Sed,” when the Junior Chamber of Commerce launched weekly summer gatherings downtown at Nollen Plaza. For a modest admission fee, thousands enjoyed live music, beer, and the festive atmosphere. The series remained popular through the 1980s but declined in the 1990s as suburban communities developed their own after-work events. By 2001, dwindling attendance led to its quiet end, and the backward spelling of Des Moines once again slipped into the pages of Iowa history. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar