It all began with a man Named Ezekiel Hunt.
After officially becoming a state in December 1846, Iowa’s population grew from just over 43,000 in 1840 to nearly 200,000 by 1850. Among Johnston’s earliest settlers were Ezekiel and Mary Hunt, who arrived from Kentucky in 1846 to make a new life on the Iowa frontier.
The BackStory
They built a log cabin near what is now NW Beaver Dr and Merle Hay Rd, where Ezekiel also ran a sawmill. The couple and their twelve children prospered, gradually acquiring more land and eventually founding the town of Ridgedale—a small but thriving community with a post office, school, grocery store, church, and cemetery, all on land donated by the Hunts. Today, Ridgedale Cemetery remains their resting place.
Zeke’s Rooftop + Grill is a tribute to Ezekiel Hunt and his family and a celebration of their hard work, resilience, and enduring community spirit that still shapes Johnston today.
The Map
Pictured is a 1907 map of Des Moines with a few current landmarks and streets overlayed for reference. In the northwest corner, there are markers indicating roughly where the Hunt family first settled in 1846.