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W Main and N Meridian Streets, northwest corner, Belle Plaine, MinnesotaPhoto: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
B−History
History · Belle Plaine

Belle Plaine dates to 1853, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #112 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration and the Hooper-Bowler-Hillstrom House. Below: 22 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1870.

1853founded
2on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
22old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Belle Plaine began

When was Belle Plaine founded?

1853

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

First census: 497 in 18702020 census: 7,395173 years

How historic is Belle Plaine?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Belle Plaine’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Belle Plaine is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #112 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Belle Plaine’s overall grade.
Founding era1853, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194011.8% of homes (±4.9) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 2.7 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 59%

Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Belle Plaine’s 2.7 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 points). Two sources give 1853.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Belle Plaine’s past

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

A town in old photos22 old photos, postcards and papers, 1894–1914.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1914, drew every building in Belle Plaine.
★ What stands out · By decade

Belle Plaine, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. 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
1900s12 items
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 002-11900Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 002-11900Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 002-21900Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 002-21900Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 002-31900Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 002-31900Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 003-11909Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 003-11909Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 003-21909Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 003-21909Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 003-31909Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 003-31909Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…Map
1910s4 items
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 004-11914Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 004-11914Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 004-21914Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 004-21914Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott C…Map
1920s–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
Every building

Belle Plaine, building by building, 1894–1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Belle Plaine fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Belle Plaine came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Belle Plaine.

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, 1853 to 1978

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853
    FoundingBelle Plaine is established
  3. 1854Post officeThe Belle Plaine post office opens
  4. 1869BuiltEpiscopal Church of the Transfiguration is built
  5. 1871BuiltHooper-Bowler-Hillstrom House is built
  6. 1894In the archiveSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 0…
  7. 20th century
  8. 1900In the archiveSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 0…
  9. 1914In the archiveSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Belle Plaine, Scott County, Minnesota. LOC sanborn04256 0…
  10. 1928Born herePatrick J. Hessian is born here
  11. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1978Born hereBeth Riesgraf is born here
On the map

Belle Plaine on the map, 1957 to 1981

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

Belle Plaine on the 1957 USGS mapBelle Plaine on the 1981 USGS map1957Belle Plaine 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.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Belle Plaine

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration
Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, built 1869Hooper-Bowler-Hillstrom House, built 1871
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Stick Style1
Vernacular1
Episcopal Church of the TransfigurationStick Style · Built 1869
Hooper-Bowler-Hillstrom HouseVernacular · Built 1871

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Belle Plaine, 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’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Belle Plaine

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Beth RiesgrafAmerican actress · b. 1978
Patrick J. HessianAmerican Army officer and chaplain · b. 1928
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Belle Plaine’s post office has been open since 1854.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Valley View Terrace
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Belle Plaine
Church of the Transfiguration Protestant EpiscopalOakwoodSacred HeartSaints Peter and Paul

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

Help out

Finish Belle Plaine’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 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 Plaine TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFaxon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlakeley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSan Francisco Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSt. Lawrence Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Belle Plaine’s history

What year was Belle Plaine founded?

In 1853, according to Wikidata. Belle Plaine’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1870 counted 497 people here.

How does Belle Plaine rank for history?

Belle Plaine is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #112 of 273 in Minnesota. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Belle Plaine?

Two places: the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration (listed 1980) and the Hooper-Bowler-Hillstrom House (1980).

How old are the homes in Belle Plaine?

12% of Belle Plaine’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1999.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (22), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.