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History · Belle Plaine Township

Belle Plaine Township dates to 1853, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1870.

1853founded
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Belle Plaine Township began

When was Belle Plaine Township founded?

1853

Belle Plaine Township dates its founding to 1853 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 497 in 18702020 census: 863173 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1864.The full story ↓

What stands out about Belle Plaine Township’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Belle Plaine Township.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Raven Stream
1864–1903
Union Hill
1876–1903
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Raven Stream Post Officepost officeUnion Hill Post Officepost office

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

The story

How Belle Plaine Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Belle Plaine Township.

Read it all →

Minnesota Territorial Supreme Court Judge Andrew G. Chatfield selected the townsite of Belle Plaine in 1853 while traveling from Mendota to Traverse des Sioux to hold court, as it was a halfway marker on his usual path of travel. Chatfield chose to name the townsite Belle Plaine, which is French for "Beautiful Prairie."

From 1868 to 1974, Belle Plaine was incorporated as a borough, the only one in Minnesota. In 1974, it became a city.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Belle Plaine Township, 1853 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853
    FoundingBelle Plaine Township is established
  3. 1864Post officeThe Raven Stream post office opens
  4. 1876Post officeThe Union Hill post office opens
  5. 1894In the archiveSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 0…
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903Post officeThe Raven Stream post office closes
  8. 1903Post officeThe Union Hill post office closes
  9. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Belle Plaine Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s6 items
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 001-11894Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 001-11894Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 001-21894Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 001-21894Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 001-31894Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 001-31894Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…Map
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Belle Plaine Township on the map, 1957 to 1981

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

Belle Plaine Township on the 1957 USGS mapBelle Plaine Township on the 1981 USGS map1957New Prague 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 Plaine Township.

People over time

Belle Plaine Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000188019001920194019601980200020207,395

Grew from 497 people in 1870 to 7,395 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Belle Plaine Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Belle Plaine2 historic placesB−St. Lawrence Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHelena TownshipIts storyCBlakeley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Belle Plaine Township’s history

What year was Belle Plaine Township founded?

In 1853, according to Wikidata. Belle Plaine Township’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1870 counted 497 people here.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, 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.