Legacy of the Belle Plaine Area

Legacy of the Belle Plaine Area. . , Founded in 1862, Belle Plaine possesses a rich and dramatic history filled with people and events of local, state, national, and international significance. Highlights from that history are captured in this 19' by 29' sculpted brick mural., Lincoln Highway , The left side of the mural depicts the Herring Hotel -- a turn-of-the-century Belle Plaine business now on the National Registry. The Herring stood on America's first trans-continental highway, the Lincoln Highway. While in existence, this historic road brought visitors and goods from around the world to Belle Plaine and the Herring Hotel. Typical of the time, a Ford Model A cruises past the hotel on one side and a Lincoln Highway marker on the other., Jumbo Well , Above the highway, a local newspaper features the story of Jumbo Well, an artesian well drilled in 1886. Jumbo burst forth, spewing millions of gallons of water into the streets of Belle Plaine and making national and international headlines before it was capped. An engineering marvel, Jumbo was finally conquered by a local family after engineers from across the nation failed halt to the flood., Agriculture , The couple dominating the center of the mural represent the strength of people who settled in the area, the courage of early residents who helped fight the flow of Jumbo Well, and the tenacity of farmers, who carved a living from the rich Iowa soil. In the background stand stalks of corn representing area agriculture and Funk Brothers, an international hybrid seed company with Iowa headquarters in Belle Plaine., The Railroad , On the right is a steam locomotive, symbolic of the more than fifty Chicago and North Western Railway trains that came through Belle Plaine each day in the 1930s and 40s. The locomotive slows to a stop beside the Belle Plaine depot, a railway station constructed in 1895. Trains still pass the depot today, connecting historic Belle Plaine to present-day Belle Plaine.