 The town's first newspaper was established in 1879, and by the mid-1880s Belle Plain had become a center of commerce and industry for the county with several businesses, Smith's small Belle Plain College, and a population of around 400.As was with many towns on the Texas frontier in the 19th century, Belle Plain was doomed when it was bypassed by rail construction.Both town and college suffered, and as a result, experienced simultaneous and rapid decline.