Editing West Bend, Iowa (section)

==History==
West Bend got its start in the early 1880s, following the construction of the [[Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway]] through that territory. It was originally called Ives after the president of the railroad, but the townspeople had it changed to West Bend from the bend in the river. West Bend (aka Ives) was the first town in Palo Alto County. A special five cent tax to build a railroad station was promised to the railroad if they would create a stop when the railroad was built, which was done.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/historyofpaloalt01mcca | title=History of Palo Alto County, Iowa | publisher=Torch Press | author=McCarty, Dwight Gaylord | year=1910  | pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofpaloalt01mcca/page/146 146]}}</ref>