Iowa became part of the United States in 1805 as part of the Louisiana Purchase and entered the Union as the 29th state on December 28, 1846. The Railroad Telegraph road was built from Boone to Council Bluffs in 1866, and by 1867 the first railroad crossed the state from the Mississippi River to Council Bluffs. Isaac Patterson is credited with naming West Side for its location on the west side of Iowa's Mississippi-Missouri divide. West Side was established in 1869, and its name was officially changed to Westside on July 1, 1880. By the 1870s, the area had attracted many Civil War veterans and railroad workers. American Legion Post 196 was chartered on October 10, 1919, renamed the Alfred R. Rossman American Legion Post 196 in 1944, and the Westside American Legion Auxiliary was formed in 1921. Eugene Kock Memorial Park was dedicated in 2018 to honor those from the Westside area who served and sacrificed in the military, and it also preserves the history of residents, businesses, and organizations in the community. Other milestones included the first school in 1873, the first newspaper in 1879, the first graduating class of Westside High School in 1889, the opening of Germania Verein Hall in 1893, formation of the fire department in 1899, organization of the Independent Telephone in 1902, passage of the first automobile on the Transcontinental Highway in 1904, installation of a water tower and water system in 1906, designation of the route as the Lincoln Highway in 1913, electrification by G.O. Steinhauer's Light and Power Plant in 1918, the original charter of the Westside State Savings Bank in 1923, the beginning of the Westside Horse Show in 1926, opening of the public library in 1927, construction of a new brick schoolhouse in 1929, destruction of the Payne block by fire on January 1, 1942, school consolidation with Vail and Arcadia into Ar-We-Va on August 8, 1955, development of Hoffman Park in 1957, the centennial celebration in 1969, construction of the community building in 1971, church consolidation in 1974, completion of a new public library in 1982, construction of a new American Legion building in 1983, the quasquicentennial celebration in 1994, completion of a new fire station in 2002, and the opening of The Observer newspaper office in 2003.