Founded in 1862, Belle Plaine has a rich and dramatic history shaped by people and events of local, state, national, and international significance. Its past includes the Herring Hotel, a turn-of-the-century Belle Plaine business on the National Registry that stood on the Lincoln Highway, America’s first trans-continental highway, bringing visitors and goods from around the world to Belle Plaine. In 1886, Jumbo Well, an artesian well, burst forth and spewed millions of gallons of water into the streets of Belle Plaine, making national and international headlines before a local family finally capped it after engineers from across the nation failed to halt the flood. The area’s settlers and early residents showed strength and courage, including in the fight against Jumbo Well, while farmers carved a living from rich Iowa soil. Area agriculture also included Funk Brothers, an international hybrid seed company with Iowa headquarters in Belle Plaine. Rail service formed another important part of the town’s story, with more than fifty Chicago and North Western Railway trains passing through Belle Plaine each day in the 1930s and 40s and stopping at the depot built in 1895, while trains still pass the depot today.