Seems like every 30 minutes or so a train zips through east central Iowa's Belle Plaine. On this day Union Pacific's 6589 pulls cars filled with Wyoming coal eastward. Behind the train is Belle Plaine's former depot building used for years when trains stopped and unloaded people and freight. The building has been closed for a number of years (if not decades) and its future remains unclear. Belle Plaine's history is comprised rail traffic on these lines and is celebrated at the town's museum. The town is also known for being along the Lincoln Highway and for 1886's runaway Jumbo artesian well. These rails run parallel to the former Lincoln Highway route (one block away) and seven blocks from 8th Avenue and 8th Street were a concrete stopper tamed Jumbo.
Following a working demonstration at a horse show and auction, this participant waits to be brushed out after the removal of riding gear. Unseasonably warm weather helped cool this four legged cattle cutter with the added benefit of no irritating insects flying around. Know that.
A staple for Model A drivers on the Lincoln Highway was and is the Lincoln Cafe in Belle Plaine, Iowa. The restaurant has seen a variety of owners throughout the years but currently seems to be thriving under new management. Without doing the research, this iconic porcelin and neon sign may be as old as the cafe itself - roughly built in 1913. Symbolically the arrow points westward towards the Lincoln Highway's terminus in California.
Across the street (the Lincoln Highway) is a light orange brick building which was the Herring Hotel for road travelers and railroad workers. Today the building stands in need of major repair including a roof.
While Big Jumbo, the artesian well remains capped just a few blocks away, the excitment of the town's new main street and museum have reframed the town's past with the present, including the still functioning Lincoln Cafe. Know that.
Along the famous Lincoln Highway in Belle Plaine, Iowa is a former gas station and motel once owned by George and Blanche Preston. Over the years they collected signage for gas stations, gas pumps, motor oils, gasoline, tires and other related motoring brands. Collectively the area of interest is called Petroliana.
George died in 1993 and his wife Blanche died in 1998. George appeared on the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson during March 1990.
I don't know the status of these structures but the buildings are still mentioned in area tourism articles. Last summer Iowa's DOT posted signs along the original Lincoln Highway and its many re-configurations to guide modern motorists along America's first transcontinental road. If George was still alive I bet these new signs would find themselves among his collection. Know that.
Take a look at these smiling boys. They stand on a monument to a monster that still lurks below the city's surface. In 1886, at the intersection of 8th Avenue and 8th Street, in 42N's Belle Plaine, Iowa, a water well drilling crew tapped into a forceful artesan well. The Iowa River aquifer sent some 30,000 to 50,000 gallons per minute into the air along with 500 to 1000 railroad cars of sand downstream and chunks of petrified wood. News of the well spread quickly around the world. It became known as the Jumbo Well, the eighth natural wonder of the world!
Thirteen months after the tapping of the ancient aquifer, the flow was finally capped with pipes and tons of concrete. Almost a hundred years later a geologic crew retapped this location to survey the current underground situation. While the recapping only took hours, the project manager commented that they were five minutes away from making Good Morning America.
This afternoon these boys helped identify the actual site of the well (mid-intersection at 8th and 8th.) The young Belle Plainians were very much aware of old Jumbo. The orange shirt boy already studied Jumbo in class, and claimed that he knew all about it.
During the past year or so the fate of Belle Plaine, Iowa's Lincoln Cafe was on hold pending a new owner and a top to bottom remodeling effort. The diner re-opened in November 2010.
This restaurant originally opened in 1925 catering to motorists on the famous transcontinental Lincoln Highway. In the above photo the highway can be seen on the right side running west and east. On Saturday the restaurant was full of folks eating their midday meal while a large private birthday party for a 92 year old town resident took place in a back room. It would be interesting to ask the party girl what she remembered of the diner and historic highway. But that had to wait, she was busy eating a red velvet cupcake. Know that.
Look hard enough and you can still find early twentieth century telephonic equipment like this Kellogg wall mount model. At a recent auction in Belle Plaine, Iowa this crank-ringer attracted four bidders and fetched around $75. In its day the phone represented state-of-the-art communication. Roughly 80 years later the Kellogg Switchboard and Supply Company of Chicago, Illinois phone is more of a decorative object than a functioning household staple. Just think - a phone with no capacity for dialing, photography, music, gps, internet, portability or even fancy ringtones. The only amenity on this model is an authentic oak cabinet. How did people ever survive? Text me the answer. Know that.
