Belle

History

A post office called Belle has been in operation since 1895.Belle, Missouri was named after Belle Wallace, an early local resident. Local history records note that when the railroad arrived and local merchants met to name the town, they chose to name it after her because she was the only unmarried girl living in the area at that time.The Namesake: Belle Wallace was born near Dixon, Missouri in 1886 and moved to the local prairie area with her family.The Decision: Town founders and merchants chose her name during a community meeting around the time the railroad depot was established. Belle was a depot on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, commonly known as the Rock Island.

Geography

Belle is located in northeastern Maries County and southeastern Osage County at the intersection of Missouri routes 28 and 89. Vienna, the Belle county seat, is to the southwest along routes 28 and 42. Bland in Gasconade County is to the east-northeast along Route 28, while Linn is to the northwest along Route 89. Belle is west-southwest of St. Louis. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Belle has a total area of , of which , or 0.07%, are water. The city sits on high ground which drains northwest toward the Gasconade River, a tributary of the Missouri River, and southeast toward the Dry Fork, a tributary of the Bourbeuse River and part of the Meramec River watershed.

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  155
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  142
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  136
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  130
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  122
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  109
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  109
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  103