To Us, It's Home.

You get the Des Moines metro when you want it: jobs, DSM airport, hospitals, the State Fair, concerts, big-box shopping. And you get to leave it when you want to. Thirty minutes east on Highway 6 is downtown. Five minutes south is I-80. What's in between is real countryside.

We've grown enough to keep a school, four churches, a library, a small commercial main street, and a working town. We haven't grown enough to lose small-town feel. Kids ride bikes to the library. Neighbors know each other. Fire calls are answered by people who live next door.

Redfield was originally platted in the 1850s by three Irish immigrant brothers who called it New Ireland. It was renamed in 1860 for Lieutenant Colonel James Redfield, who died in the Civil War at Allatoona Pass. A year before the town was renamed, John Brown led twelve freedom seekers across Iowa and stopped east of town at the Murray farm. The Freedom Trail marker at the Redfield Depot commemorates the story.

Hanging Rock Park sits at the south edge of town, with 469 acres of sandstone bluffs, river, and prairie. The Redfield Dam and its 88-acre wildlife refuge sit on the west edge. The Raccoon River Valley Trail runs through downtown, connecting 14 small towns across three counties on 89 paved miles. Bald eagles work the open water below the dam every winter. Morels come up in the timber every spring.

We have a working business community: a bank, a diner, a feed store, a medical clinic, HVAC and building trades, and more. The Chamber of Commerce and the Redfield Development Corporation both promote existing businesses and welcome new ones. Commercial property is available in and around downtown, and we're actively interested in growth that fits. If you're thinking about opening or relocating a business, the Commercial Property page is your starting point.

Kids attend West Central Valley Community School District (WCV Wildcats). Redfield Middle School is right here in town. Elementary and high school are a short drive up the road in Dexter and Stuart.

Homes and lots in Redfield generally run well below Des Moines-area prices. Property taxes, utility rates, and building costs reflect the small-city budget. Real numbers and comparisons live on the Cost of Living vs. Metro page.