Belle Plain was established in 1876 with big plans for a booming future and quickly became the county seat. After opening several businesses, newspaper articles across Texas in 1879 advertised valuable town lots to be sold on the courthouse steps. The methodist church opened Belle Plain College in 1881 which nearly doubled the towns population and expanded to a 3-story building in 1885.
Despite many accomplishments, Belle Plain’s longevity was determined when Texas and Pacific Railroad decided to lay tracks through Baird, 8 miles to the north. The county seat followed just 2 years later and so did most of Belle Plain’s businesses and residents by 1897. Their beloved college closed in 1892. The last survivors were a few residents and a post office which closed in 1909. All that remains today is a stone skeleton of the school, hidden in the center of a large field.
