By 1883 the Chicago and Nothwestern Railroad and Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company had built a crossing 1-1/2 miles north of Sheldahl with regular trains scheduled. Due to a state requirement, a depot was constructed at the crossing’s southeast edge that became known as Sheldahl Crossing. A small settlement began to spring up around the depot. At one time, as many as 10 passenger trains made daily stops at this depot. Over the next 5 years, approximately 50 homes and businesses moved from Sheldahl to Sheldahl Crossing. These structures were moved in their entirety with the help of circular horsepower. Sheldahl Crossing was renamed Slater and the town was incorporated in 1890.In 1887, where cattle had leisurely grazed the land and the sod laid undisturbed bythe plow, a small settlement was born. The untouched land was quickly transformedinto well-laid streets and alleys, grain elevators, a schoolhouse, a church, and a trainservice. By 1890, this steady growth had resulted in a busy little town with apopulation of 450 consisting of 20 businesses, 3 churches, and many commodioushomes. They decided to name this busy little town Slater, ‘A Community United forProgress.Today’s Slater offers a small town atmosphere (pop.1,489 in 2010) but is close tolarger cities. Slater is located on Highway 210 approximately 20 miles north of DesMoines and 10 miles south of Ames (home of Iowa State University). With manyparks and recreation opportunities, Slater openly invites all of those interested invisiting their community to share in one of Iowa’s best-kept secrets.