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History · Belle Prairie City

Belle Prairie City dates to 1869, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1942 on and the census since 1900.

1869founded
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Belle Prairie City began

When was Belle Prairie City founded?

1869

Belle Prairie City dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 129 in 19002020 census: 49157 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1848.

What stands out about Belle Prairie City’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Belle Prairie City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Belle Prairie City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Belle Prairie City’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Belle Prairie City, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Belle Prairie City yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Belle Prairie City is an incorporated town in Hamilton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 49 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Belle Prairie City was established in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 54 to 49 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Belle Prairie City, 1848 to 1953

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Belle Prairie post office opens
  3. 1869
    FoundingBelle Prairie City is established
  4. 20th century
  5. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1953Post officeThe Belle Prairie post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Belle Prairie City on the map, 1942 to 1974

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Belle Prairie City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Belle Prairie City on the 1942 USGS mapBelle Prairie City on the 1974 USGS map1942McLeansboro sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Belle Prairie City.

People over time

Belle Prairie City, census by census

01001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 129

Between 48 and 129 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Belle Prairie City’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Belle Prairie City

Nobody well known was born in Belle Prairie City itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jerry SloanAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1942
John Henry StelleAmerican politician · b. 1891
Henry C. WarmothAmerican politician · b. 1842
James R. CampbellAmerican politician 1853-1924 · b. 1853
L
Lefty JamersonAmerican baseball player · b. 1900
M
Mel CollardAmerican football, basketball, and baseball coa… · b. 1894
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Belle Prairie, opened and closed inside today’s town.

1cemetery inside Belle Prairie City
Crouch

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Belle Prairie City’s history

What year was Belle Prairie City founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata. Belle Prairie City’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1900 counted 129 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.