History in Photos
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All photos and text provided by former and current residents of the Belle Plaine area.
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Click on a photo to enter an exhibit.
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Sankot Motor Company
Sankot Motor Company, also known as Sankot's Garage, is a Lincoln Highway landmark and has been owned and operated by members of the Sankot family for over 90 years. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. |
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Coast to Coast
Pictured here in the 1960s, Coast to Coast was a popular hardware store on Main Street. It holds the distinction of being in the only building to survive the Great Fire of 1894 that destroyed Main Street. |
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Jack's Clover Farm, Chelsea, Iowa Several stories in Park It! focus on trips to Chelsea and stopping to purchase treats at the grocery store. Jack's Clover Farm was a popular Chelsea business from 1952 through 1971. |
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Storm's Mens Store Storms was a long-time clothing business on Belle Plaine's Main Street, a street featured in many Park It! stories. |
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King Theatre The theater, owned and operated by Milton Mansfield, opened October 17, 1930 and was the first in Belle Plaine to show "talkies." Mansfield also owned the Rivoli, (west of the old Citizens Bank) and the Strand (across the street from the bank). Both theaters showed silent films, although the Rivoli was converted to sound. When the King opened, the Strand closed, and the Rivoli closed a year later. |
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The Major 7th A Belle Plaine professional band, the Major 7th was formed in the mid 1960s and played pop music of the 50s and 60s. The band included hometown sons Sam Zimmerman and Doug Mansfield. |
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Cars through the decades Early 20th-century cars driven by the Winkie family and cars used in the BP Drivers Education program. |
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Wallace Winkie WWII mementos Wink's stories of his time in the service are mentioned often in the book. |
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