[7] Nonetheless, in 1861 Bell County voted for secession and many residents fought in the Confederate Army.

After Reconstruction, the city, close to a major feeder of the Chisholm Trail, served as growing business center for the region.

In 1868, Martha McWhirter, a prominent figure in Belton's non-sectarian Union Sunday School, created the Woman's Commonwealth, the only Texas women's commune of the 1800s.

[8] The town experienced rapid growth in the 1880s with the building of the courthouse, Baylor Female College buildings, and a "railroad war" in which, by 1881, Belton was bypassed by the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad, which built Temple, 8 miles to the east, as the local junction and depot town.

[9] The town began to recover in the run up to World War II as Fort Hood was opened nearby in 1942, housing the tank destroyer Tactical and Firing Center.

Encompassing over 200,000 acres and almost 90,000 troops, this brought a large population and a lot of economic activity to the area.

[13] It is near the center of Bell County at the point where the Blackland Prairie, characterized by level ground and deep fertile soil, and the Edwards Plateau, characterized by its many springs, hills, and steep canyons, meet.

This climate is typified by hot and muggy summers, short mild winters, and pleasantly warm spring and fall seasons.

Belton averages 35.2 inches (890 mm) of annual rainfall and it is distributed mostly evenly throughout the year.

However, February 2021 brought a snowstorm to Belton that impacted many homes, forcing many people to live without power or heat for as long as a week.

The snow was thick and the ice was thicker, blocking roads and making it very dangerous to drive.

Although severe weather can and does occur, typically during the spring with supercell thunderstorms it does not fall within the conventional limits of tornado alley.

Founded in 1845, it is a private Christian university affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Yettie Polk Park, which winds along Nolan Creek with a walking trail reaching from down and Interstate 35 to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, And Miller Springs Nature Center offering hiking trails along the Leon River below the Belton Lake Dam.

Belton Lake has 11 public access parks owned and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

These parks offer many amenities such as boat docks, picnic areas, hike and bike trails, camping sites, public restroom facilities, marinas and designated sandy swimming beaches.