Map of Belle Plaine city, Minnesota

Belle Plaine is a city in Scott County, Minnesota, United States, about 40 minutes southwest of Minneapolis. The population was 7,395 at the 2020 census.

Belle Plaine city overview:
Name:	Belle Plaine city
LSAD Code:	25
LSAD Description:	city (suffix)
State:	Minnesota
County:	Scott County
Elevation:	856 ft (261 m)
Total Area:	6.18 sq mi (16.00 km²)
Land Area:	5.95 sq mi (15.42 km²)
Water Area:	0.22 sq mi (0.58 km²)
Total Population:	7,395
Population Density:	1,242.02/sq mi (479.58/km²)
ZIP code:	56011
Area code:	952
FIPS code:	2704834
GNISfeature ID:	0639891
Website:	belleplainemn.com

Online Interactive Map

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Belle Plaine online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Belle Plaine location map. Where is Belle Plaine city?

Belle Plaine location on the U.S. Map. Where is Belle Plaine city. — Belle Plaine location on the U.S. Map.

Belle Plaine location on the Minnesota map. Where is Belle Plaine city. — Location of Belle Plaine in Minnesota.

History

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. Judge 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.

In 1870, the Minnesota State Legislature passed “An act to aid in the development of the salt springs at Belle Plaine”, which donated six pieces of state-owned salt land to a holding company under certain conditions, notably that a well was to be drilled at Belle Plaine. The public funds put the company under great public scrutiny. A year later “An act to further aid the Belle Plaine Salt Company in the development of Salt Springs at Belle Plaine” passed.

Belle Plaine Road Map

Belle Plaine city Satellite Map

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.11 square miles (15.82 km); 5.91 square miles (15.31 km) is land and 0.20 square miles (0.52 km) is water.

U.S. Highway 169 and Minnesota State Highway 25 are two of the main routes in the community. The U.S. Highway 169 corridor travels from the city of Virginia along the western edge of Mille Lacs Lake, through the western suburbs of Minneapolis and continues south through Belle Plaine, Mankato, and then into Iowa. It is a central route of travel and provides easy access to the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota.

Belle Plaine is located along the Minnesota River, which flows northeast through the town. A fairly newly constructed bridge crosses on the north side of town via Minnesota State Highway 25.

Belle Plaine is located within the Minnesota River Valley, an area of considerable width in which a great river once ran after the receding of the glaciers that left Minnesota with so many lakes. The ancient river’s banks are discernible as the slopes of the valley rise up on either side of the town.