Belle Plaine is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,330 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in u ...

History

Belle Plaine was founded in 1862 when it was certain the railroad would be extended to that point. It was surveyed in March of 1862 by George F. Kirby for its proprietor, John I Blair who platted it in May. "Belle Plaine" is derived from the French meaning "beautiful plain". Belle Plaine is located on both the historic

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...

and the cross country tracks of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The

Iowa River The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 and i ...

flows roughly southeastward, just south of the city airport.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 2,330 people, 1,058 households, and 589 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 733.0 inhabitants per square mile (283.0/km²). There were 1,222 housing units at an average density of 384.4 per square mile (148.4/km²). The

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

makeup of the city was 93.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.0% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.5% from other races and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 2.0% of the population. Of the 1,058 households, 23.9% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.4% were cohabitating couples, 27.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 23.4% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 44.3% of all households were non-families. 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals, 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 44.4 years. 24.4% of the residents were under the age of 20; 4.1% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 21.8% were from 25 and 44; 28.8% were from 45 and 64; and 20.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.5% male and 49.5% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 2,534 people, 1,101 households, and 659 families living in the city. The

was . There were 1,258 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.8%

, 0.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.4% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population. There were 1,101 households, of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were

living together, 10% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.1% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.9. The median age in the city was 42.8 years. 23.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.5% were from 25 to 44; 28.2% were from 45 to 64; and 19.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,878 people, 1,212 households and 749 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,318 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.92%

, 0.07%

, 0.03% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.1%

, 0.07% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population. There were 1,212 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were

living together, 8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.97. 25.7% are under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,316, and the median income for a family was $47,105. Males had a median income of $31,750 versus $24,966 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $16,321. About 3.3% of families and 7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.3% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The current mayor of Belle Plaine is Lyle Morrow.

Education

The Belle Plaine Community School District provides education services to the Belle Plaine area. The district is one of three school districts serving Benton County. Belle Plaine High School and the junior high school are co-located. Longfellow Elementary school provides pre-K through 6th grade education.

Infrastructure

Iowa Highway 21 Iowa Highway 21 (Iowa 21) is a state highway (Iowa), state highway that runs from north to south in central Iowa. It has a length of . Iowa 21 begins at Iowa 149 west of Hedrick, Iowa, Hedrick and ends at a freeway interchange wi ...

passes through Belle Plaine providing north to south travel from Waterloo to Hedrick and connections with both state and US east to west highways, U.S. Highway 30 north of town and Iowa Highway 212 south of town. The railroad provides east to west freight service to the city. The city airport is located on the south side of the town.

Notable people

* George Alexander, 28th Mayor of Los Angeles; lived in Belle Plaine for several years. * Marjorie Cameron, artist, occultist, actress, and wife of rocket pioneer and occultist

Jack Parsons John Whiteside Parsons (born Marvel Whiteside Parsons; October 2, 1914 – June 17, 1952) was an American Aerospace engineering, rocket engineer, chemist, and Thelemite, Thelemite occultist. Parsons was one of the principal founders of both th ...

. * Steve Carl, mixed martial artist. * William Dana Ewart, invented and patented the linked belt. *

Tom McLaury Tom McLaury (June 30, 1853 – October 26, 1881) was an American outlaw. He and his brother Frank owned a ranch outside Tombstone, Arizona, Arizona Territory during the 1880s. He was a member of a gang of outlaws and cattle rustlers called the ...

, outlaw cowboy; grew up in Belle Plaine. * Earl Moran, 20th century

pin-up A pin-up model is a model (person), model whose mass-produced pictures and photographs have wide appeal within the popular culture of a society. Pin-up models are usually glamour photography, glamour, actresses, or fashion models whose pictures ...

and glamour artist was born in Belle Plaine in 1893. * Hap Moran,

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

football star, was born in Belle Plaine in 1901. * Lonnie Nielsen, professional golfer, was born in Belle Plaine in 1953. * Rod Rust, former New England Patriots Head Coach; coached Belle Plaine High School in 1954–1955 * Henry B. Tippie (1927–2022), businessman in the NYSE Hall of Fame, was born Belle Plaine * Frank Wearne, raced seven times in the Indianapolis 500

References

External links

Official City Website
{{authority control 1862 establishments in Iowa Cedar Rapids, Iowa metropolitan area Cities in Benton County, Iowa Cities in Iowa Populated places established in 1862

History

Geography

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

2000 census

Government

Education

Infrastructure

Notable people

See also

References

External links