Beloit, Wisconsin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Beloit, Wisconsin
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Downtown Beloit
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| Nickname(s):
"Gateway To Wisconsin"
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Location of Beloit in Rock County, Wisconsin
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 Beloit, Wisconsin
Location in Wisconsin
Beloit, Wisconsin
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
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| State |  Wisconsin |
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| County | Rock | |
| Founded | 1836 | |
| Incorporated | February 24, 1846 (village) March 31, 1856 (city) |
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| Area | ||
| • City | 17.66 sq mi (45.73 km2) | |
| • Land | 17.33 sq mi (44.89 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.33 sq mi (0.84 km2) | |
| Elevation | 751 ft (228.9 m) | |
| Population
(2020)
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| • City | 36,657 | |
| • Density | 2,115.0/sq mi (816.6/km2) | |
| • Metro | 163,687 | |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) | |
| ZIP Code(s) |
53511, 53512
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| Area code(s) | 608 | |
| FIPS code | 55-06500 | |
| Website | beloitwi.gov | |
Beloit (pronounced bə-LOYT) is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, in the United States. In 2020, about 36,657 people lived there. Beloit is an important city in the Janesville–Beloit area. It is also part of the larger Madison–Janesville–Beloit region.
Contents
History of Beloit
In October 1836, a group of twelve men from Colebrook, New Hampshire, formed a company. They called it the "New England Emigrating Company." They sent Horace White to find a good place to settle in Wisconsin.
He found the perfect spot near what is now Beloit. It had flat fields, water power from Turtle Creek, and plenty of gravel. White bought the land for the new settlement. At the same time, six families from Bedford, New Hampshire, also arrived. They felt at home because the Rock River Valley reminded them of New England.
The village was planned in 1838. It was designed with wide streets, just like towns in New England.
How Beloit Got Its Name
Beloit was first named New Albany in 1837. This was after Albany, Vermont, and it was named by its founder, Caleb Blodgett. The name was changed to Beloit in 1838. The name "Beloit" was made up to sound a bit like Detroit.
Cool Inventions from Beloit
Beloit is known for some cool inventions! These include the speedometer, which tells you how fast you are going. Also, John Francis Appleby invented the twine binder here. This machine helped farmers tie up bundles of grain.
Another fun invention from Beloit is Korn Kurls. These are a puffed cheese snack that look a lot like Cheetos.
Beloit's Railroad Past
Beloit used to be served by two major railroads: the Milwaukee Road and the Chicago & North Western Railroad (C&NW). Today, the Union Pacific railroad uses some of the old Milwaukee Road tracks. This connects to the Fairbanks-Morse engine factory. The CPKC railroad also operates tracks in Beloit. The city even had an electric interurban railroad in the past.
Geography and Location
Beloit covers an area of about 17.66 square miles (45.73 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 17.33 square miles (44.89 square kilometers), is land. The rest, about 0.33 square miles (0.84 square kilometers), is water.
The city is located next to the Town of Beloit and the Town of Turtle. It also borders South Beloit, Illinois, which is in the state of Illinois.
Most new buildings in Beloit are being built on the east side. This area is close to Interstates 39/90 and Interstate 43. The city has added rural land here for the Beloit Gateway Industrial Park. The downtown area along the Rock River has also been improved.
Beloit's Climate
Beloit has a climate with warm summers and cold, snowy winters.
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| Climate data for Beloit, Wisconsin (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 61 (16) |
69 (21) |
84 (29) |
92 (33) |
103 (39) |
104 (40) |
110 (43) |
102 (39) |
100 (38) |
89 (32) |
78 (26) |
67 (19) |
110 (43) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 48.7 (9.3) |
52.6 (11.4) |
67.6 (19.8) |
78.7 (25.9) |
86.3 (30.2) |
91.2 (32.9) |
92.0 (33.3) |
91.2 (32.9) |
88.3 (31.3) |
81.1 (27.3) |
65.9 (18.8) |
52.1 (11.2) |
94.1 (34.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 25.1 (−3.8) |
29.4 (−1.4) |
41.5 (5.3) |
54.8 (12.7) |
66.5 (19.2) |
76.1 (24.5) |
79.6 (26.4) |
78.0 (25.6) |
71.3 (21.8) |
58.3 (14.6) |
43.2 (6.2) |
30.5 (−0.8) |
54.5 (12.5) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 17.9 (−7.8) |
21.6 (−5.8) |
32.7 (0.4) |
44.6 (7.0) |
56.1 (13.4) |
65.9 (18.8) |
69.7 (20.9) |
68.1 (20.1) |
60.8 (16.0) |
48.5 (9.2) |
35.3 (1.8) |
23.8 (−4.6) |
45.4 (7.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 10.7 (−11.8) |
13.9 (−10.1) |
23.8 (−4.6) |
34.4 (1.3) |
45.7 (7.6) |
55.8 (13.2) |
59.8 (15.4) |
58.1 (14.5) |
50.3 (10.2) |
38.7 (3.7) |
27.4 (−2.6) |
17.0 (−8.3) |
36.3 (2.4) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −8.7 (−22.6) |
−3.6 (−19.8) |
6.6 (−14.1) |
23.8 (−4.6) |
34.9 (1.6) |
45.4 (7.4) |
52.5 (11.4) |
51.5 (10.8) |
38.9 (3.8) |
27.3 (−2.6) |
14.2 (−9.9) |
−0.8 (−18.2) |
−12.6 (−24.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −29 (−34) |
−28 (−33) |
−13 (−25) |
7 (−14) |
26 (−3) |
34 (1) |
42 (6) |
39 (4) |
23 (−5) |
4 (−16) |
−12 (−24) |
−25 (−32) |
−29 (−34) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.60 (41) |
1.52 (39) |
2.13 (54) |
3.72 (94) |
4.34 (110) |
5.64 (143) |
3.36 (85) |
4.14 (105) |
3.83 (97) |
2.77 (70) |
2.40 (61) |
1.96 (50) |
37.41 (950) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 9.8 (25) |
7.3 (19) |
4.3 (11) |
1.1 (2.8) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.2 (0.51) |
2.7 (6.9) |
10.2 (26) |
35.6 (90) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 8.7 | 7.1 | 8.4 | 10.3 | 11.7 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 7.6 | 9.1 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 107.7 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 6.2 | 4.5 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 4.6 | 19.1 |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
People of Beloit
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 4,098 | — | |
| 1870 | 4,396 | 7.3% | |
| 1880 | 4,790 | 9.0% | |
| 1890 | 6,315 | 31.8% | |
| 1900 | 10,436 | 65.3% | |
| 1910 | 15,125 | 44.9% | |
| 1920 | 21,284 | 40.7% | |
| 1930 | 23,611 | 10.9% | |
| 1940 | 25,365 | 7.4% | |
| 1950 | 29,590 | 16.7% | |
| 1960 | 32,846 | 11.0% | |
| 1970 | 35,729 | 8.8% | |
| 1980 | 35,207 | −1.5% | |
| 1990 | 35,573 | 1.0% | |
| 2000 | 35,775 | 0.6% | |
| 2010 | 36,966 | 3.3% | |
| 2020 | 36,657 | −0.8% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
In 2020, Beloit had a population of 36,657 people. The city was made up of different groups. About 60% of the people were White, and 14.5% were Black or African American. About 1.6% were Asian, and 1% were Native American. People from two or more races made up 11.3% of the population. Also, 21.3% of the people were Hispanic or Latino.
Economy and Business
Many companies have their main offices in Beloit. These include ABC Supply Company, Bio-Systems International, and Broaster Company. Other companies are Fairbanks-Morse Defense, Hendricks Holding Company, Murmac Paint Manufacturing, PlayMonster, and Regal Beloit.
Downtown Beloit has many small shops and boutiques. The area has seen a lot of new investment since the 1990s. Downtown Beloit is one of the first places to be named a Wisconsin Main Street. New apartments and hotels have been built downtown since 2000. These include the Hotel Hilton Apartments (2001) and the Ironworks Hotel (2003).
From the 1990s to 2011, over $75 million was invested in downtown Beloit. In 2011, Beloit won the Great American Main Street Award. In 2012, Travel and Leisure magazine listed Beloit as one of America's Greatest Mainstreets.
Arts and Culture
Beloit has many places for arts and culture. These include:
- Beloit Art Center
- Beloit Civic Theatre
- Beloit Historical Society
- Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra
- The Castle Performing Arts Center
- Logan Museum of Anthropology
- Turtle Creek Chamber Orchestra
- Wright Museum of Art
- Beloit City Hall, which has a large mural showing Beloit's history. Artist Martha Nessler Hayden finished it in 1985.
Historic Buildings to See
Beloit has several historic buildings. The Water Tower Place was built in 1889. A historic pump station is also nearby. The Fairbanks Flats were built in 1917 to house African American families moving to the area.
Pearsons Hall of Science was designed for Beloit College. The Lathrop-Munn Cobblestone House was built for politician John Hackett. The Castle at 501 Prospect was once a church. Now it is a Performing Arts Center and Music School.
Fun Festivals in Beloit
Beloit hosts exciting festivals throughout the year. The Beloit International Film Festival shows many movies. Beloit's Winterfest is also popular. It has an indoor playland, ice skating, ice sculpting, and toboggan races.
Parks and Recreation
Beloit is home to the Beloit Sky Carp. This is a professional minor league baseball team. They play in the High-A Central league and are connected to the Miami Marlins. The Sky Carp play their games at ABC Supply Stadium. Before that, they played at Harry C. Pohlman Field.
Education in Beloit
The School District of Beloit serves about 5,923 students. It has six primary schools, four intermediate schools, and one high school. Beloit Memorial High School is the city's public high school. Most of Beloit is in this school district. Some parts are in the Beloit Turner School District.
Beloit College is a private college in the city. It has about 1,300 students. The main campus is next to downtown. It has ancient Native American mounds. Blackhawk Technical College, a public technical school, also has a campus downtown.
Beloit has a public library. It is part of the Arrowhead Library System.
Media and News
Beloit's main newspaper is The Beloit Daily News. It is published Monday through Friday. It covers news for the Wisconsin/Illinois state line area. The Janesville Gazette also covers Beloit news.
Beloit is part of the Madison television market. However, because it is close to Rockford, Illinois, TV stations from Rockford also cover Beloit news.
Radio stations that broadcast to Beloit include:
- '90s hits WBEL (1380 AM)
- Classic country WGEZ (1490 AM)
- Variety WBCR (103.5 FM), owned by Beloit College.
You can also hear radio stations from Janesville, Madison, and Rockford.
Transportation
The Beloit Transit System provides public transportation. It has four regular bus routes that run Monday through Saturday. It also has an express route between Beloit and Janesville.
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Interstate 90 goes north to Janesville and Madison. It goes south to Rockford, Illinois. This highway runs on the east side of Beloit. |
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Interstate 39 runs along with Interstate 90 through Beloit. |
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Interstate 43 ends in Beloit at I-90/39. It goes north to Milwaukee. |
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U.S. Route 51 runs through the middle and south side of the city. It goes north to Janesville and Madison. It goes south to South Beloit, Illinois and Rockford. |
Beloit Airport is a small public airport in the city. It is used for general aviation, gliders, and sky diving. Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport is a public airport north of Beloit. It does not have scheduled passenger flights. The closest airports with scheduled airline service are Dane County Regional Airport and Rockford International Airport.
Famous People from Beloit
- Thomas Ryum Amlie, U.S. Representative
- Clinton Anderson, Wisconsin State Representative
- Marcia Anderson, U. S. Army Major General
- Roy Chapman Andrews, adventurer and naturalist
- Fred Ascani, U.S. Air Force Major General
- Alan E. Ashcraft, Jr., Illinois State Representative
- Clinton Babbitt, U.S. Representative
- George B. Belting, Wisconsin State Representative
- James A. Blaisdell, founder of the Claremont Colleges
- Jim Breton, MLB player
- Jason W. Briggs, leader in development of Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
- James A. Brittan, Wisconsin State Representative
- Tony Brizzolara, MLB player
- Richard Burdge, Wisconsin State Senator
- Jackson J. Bushnell, educator
- Jim Caldwell, Beloit Memorial High School alumnus, former head coach of NFL's Detroit Lions
- Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin, geologist
- Franklin Clarke, professional football player for Dallas Cowboys (1960–1967) and Cleveland Browns (1957–1959)
- Lawrence E. Cunningham, Wisconsin State Senator
- Horatio N. Davis, Wisconsin State Senator
- Delmar DeLong, Wisconsin State Representative
- Burger M. Engebretson, Wisconsin State Representative
- John E. Erickson, NBA executive
- Betty Everett, rock and jazz singer ("The Shoop Shoop Song")
- Edward A. Everett, Wisconsin State Representative
- Dorr Felt, inventor of comptometer
- Edwin G. Fifield, Wisconsin State Representative
- Bill Flannigan, NFL player
- Patsy Gharrity, MLB player
- Danny Gokey, American Idol contestant, choir director at a Beloit church
- Bernie Graham, professional baseball player
- John Hackett, businessman and politician
- Jim Hall, professional boxer
- Edward F. Hansen, Wisconsin State Representative
- William O. Hansen, Wisconsin State Representative
- Bill Hanzlik, NBA player and coach
- Jonathan Harr, journalist and author of A Civil Action
- Ken Hendricks, founder of ABC Supply, listed on the Forbes 400
- William H. Hurlbut, Wisconsin State Representative
- Gary Johnson, elected majority leader of Wisconsin Assembly in 1980 and 1983
- Jerry Kenney, baseball player for New York Yankees (1967, 1969–1972) and Cleveland Indians (1973)
- John Baxter Kinne, Medal of Honor recipient
- Stephanie Klett, television personality, Miss Wisconsin 1992
- Gene Knutson, NFL player
- Richard LaPiere, sociologist at Stanford University
- Eugene Lee, Tony Award-winning set designer (Wicked, Saturday Night Live)
- Wallace Leschinsky, Wisconsin State Representative
- Alonzo J. Mathison, Wisconsin State Representative
- Max Maxfield, Wyoming Secretary of State
- Juan Conway McNabb (John Conway McNabb), Roman Catholic bishop, missionary in Peru
- Sereno Merrill, Wisconsin State Representative
- Elmer Miller, MLB player
- Tommy Mills, head coach of Creighton Bluejays, Georgetown Hoyas and Arkansas State Indians football teams; Creighton and Arkansas State men's basketball, Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball
- Orsen N. Nielsen, U.S. diplomat
- David Noggle, Wisconsin State Representative, Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Idaho Territory
- Russ Oltz, NFL player
- Terell Parks, professional basketball player
- Danica Patrick, Indy Car & NASCAR auto racing driver and model
- George Perring, MLB player
- Samuel L. Plummer, Wisconsin State Representative
- Alan S. Robertson, Wisconsin State Representative
- Robert P. Robinson, Wisconsin State Senator
- Judy Robson, former majority leader, Wisconsin Senate
- David Roth, opera director
- Jane Sherman, actress, writer, composer, dancer with The Rockettes
- Richard Shoemaker, Wisconsin State Senator
- Tracy Silverman, violinist
- Mark Simonson, font designer
- Erastus G. Smith, Wisconsin State Representative
- Simon Smith, Wisconsin State Representative
- Robert C. Strong, U.S. diplomat
- William Barstow Strong, former president of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
- Tyree Talton, NFL player
- Rusty Tillman, NFL player and assistant coach, XFL head coach
- S. J. Todd, Wisconsin State Senator
- Allen F. Warden, Wisconsin State Representative
- Arthur Pratt Warner, aviator and inventor
- Kyle Weaver, professional basketball player for Oklahoma City Thunder
- Floyd E. Wheeler, Wisconsin State Representative and lawyer
- John D. Wickhem, Justice of Wisconsin Supreme Court
- Albert J. Winegar, Wisconsin State Representative
- Zip Zabel, MLB player
- Robin Zander, musician (Cheap Trick)
See also
In Spanish: Beloit (ciudad del condado de Rock, Wisconsin) para niños
