Beloit, Wisconsin

Beloit, Wisconsin
Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. Beloit is a principal city of the Janesville-Beloit Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison Combined Statistical Area.
History
Twelve men in Colebrook, New Hampshire created the "New England Emigrating Company" in October 1836, and sent Horace White to find a suitable region of Wisconsin in which to settle. The level fields and the water power of Turtle Creek and "unlimited gravel" in the area around what is now Beloit fixed the site of the village and farms. White purchased the land. At the same time as the Colebrook settlers, six families from Bedford, New Hampshire, arrived and settled in the region. They said the Rock River Valley had a "New England look" that made them feel at home. The village was platted in 1838 and was planned with wide streets, building on the New England model.
Beloit was originally named New Albany (after Albany, Vermont) in 1837 by its founder, Caleb Blodgett. The name was changed to Beloit in 1838. The name was coined to be reminiscent of Detroit.
Beloit lays claim to such inventions as the speedometer, John Francis Appleby's twine binder, and Korn Kurls, which resemble Cheetos, was the original puffed cheese snack.
Historic buildings
Beloit's 1889 Water Tower Place began demolition in 1935, which was halted because of the cost. A historic pump station is nearby.
The Fairbanks Flats were built in 1917 to house the rush of African Americans moving to the area from the Southern United States.
Pearsons Hall of Science was designed by the architectural firm Burnham and Root for Beloit College as a science center.
The Lathrop-Munn Cobblestone House was originally built for politician John Hackett.
The Castle at 501 Prospect was built as First Presbyterian Church in 1902. It now operates as a Performing Arts Center and Music School.
Downtown Beloit and the riverfront
Downtown Beloit is the city's historic economic, cultural and social center. North of the confluence of the Rock River and Turtle Creek, the downtown is anchored by a core of historic buildings and the Ironworks office and industrial campus. Beloit's riverfront park system, mainly Riverside Park, extends north of downtown along the east bank toward the Town of Beloit.
Downtown Beloit is one of two inaugural members of the Wisconsin Main Street designation.
Railroad heritage
Beloit was served by the Milwaukee Road, and the Chicago & North Western Railroad (C&NW). In its 1980 bankruptcy, the Milwaukee Road disposed of the Southwestern Line. The Union Pacific, which took over the C&NW, operates in Beloit today over a remnant of the former Milwaukee Road, providing a rail connection to Fairbanks-Morse Engine manufacturing facility. The CPKC operates other trackage in Beloit. The city also had an electric interurban railroad.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water. Location: .
The city is adjacent to the Town of Beloit, Town of Turtle, and the Illinois municipality of South Beloit.
Most of Beloit's development is occurring on the east side, adjacent to Interstates 39/90 and Interstate 43, where the city annexed rural land for Beloit Gateway Industrial Park, as well as in the newly revitalized downtown along the Rock River.
Climate
Demographics
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, the population was 36,657. The population density was . There were 15,068 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 60.0% White, 14.5% Black or African American, 1.6% Asian, 1.0% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 11.4% from other races, and 11.3% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 21.3% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 36,966 people, 13,781 households, and 8,867 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 15,177 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 68.9% White, 15.1% African American, 0.4% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 10.0% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.1% of the population.
There were 13,781 households, of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 18.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.7% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.16.
The median age in the city was 33.1 years. 27.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 12.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.1% were from 45 to 64; 12% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.
Government
Beloit is represented by Mark Spreitzer and Stephen Nass in the Wisconsin State Senate, Clinton Anderson and Ellen Schutt in the Wisconsin State Assembly, Bryan Steil in the United States House of Representatives, and Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin in the United States Senate.
Beloit has a council-manager system of government, with seven council members, each elected for two-year terms. Four members are elected in even years and three in odd years. City council elections are held annually in April. The city council establishes policies for the city and appoints a city manager to implement those policies. The current city manager, Jerry Gabrielatos, started on February 20, 2023.
Economy
Industries with headquarters in Beloit include ABC Supply Company, Bio-Systems International, Broaster Company, Fairbanks-Morse Defense, Hendricks Holding Company, Murmac Paint Manufacturing, PlayMonster, and Regal Beloit.
Downtown Beloit is a dense cluster of mostly small shops and boutiques. The area has been recognized for increased investment and renewal since the 1990s. Upscale downtown condominiums and hotels were introduced after 2000 with the construction of the Hotel Hilton Apartments (2001), the Beloit Inn (now the Ironworks Hotel, 2003), Heritage View (2005), Phoenix Project (2013), Hotel Goodwin (2018), and the Wright & Wagner Lofts (2021).
From the 1990s to 2011, downtown Beloit received direct public and private investment totaling more than $75 million. In 2011, Beloit was a Great American Main Street Award winner. In 2012, Beloit was listed #17 on Travel and Leisure'''s list of America's Greatest Mainstreets.
Education
The School District of Beloit serves 5,923 students in six primary schools, four intermediate schools, and one high school, with alternative programming and charter schools. Beloit Memorial High School is the city's public high school.
Beloit College, a private liberal arts college with undergraduate enrollment around 1,300, is in the city, with the main campus adjacent to downtown. The campus has a number of prehistoric Native American mounds.
Blackhawk Technical College, a public technical school, has a campus in downtown Beloit.
Beloit is also home to Concordia University's Beloit location, Beloit Center. The center offers courses designed for working adults interested in getting their associate's, bachelor's, and graduate degrees.
Beloit has a public library that is part of the Arrowhead Library System.
Media
Beloit's main newspaper is The Beloit Daily News, a daily (published Monday through Friday) paper owned by Adams Publishing Group, LLC, and serving the Wisconsin/Illinois stateline area. The Janesville Gazette, also owned by Adams Publishing Group, also serves Beloit.
Beloit is a part of the Madison television market, but due to its proximity to Rockford, stations from Rockford also serve the city and report on stories and information (weather, school closings, etc.) relating to Beloit.
Radio stations serving Beloit include WBCR (90.3 FM), a variety-formatted station owned by The Board of Trustees of Beloit College, '90s hits station WBEL (1380 AM), classic country station WGEZ (1490 AM), Janesville-based stations WCLO (1230 AM) and WJVL (99.9 FM), and Fort Atkinson-based WSJY (107.3 FM).
Culture
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 – this houses a mural portraying the history of Beloit, completed in 1985 by artist Martha Nessler Hayden.
Festivals
Beloit's main festivals include:
Beloit Autorama
Beloit Farmers' Market
Beloit International Film Festival
Dancing at Harry's Place
Downtown Beloit Street Dance
Fridays in the Park
Music at Harry's Place
Winterfest
Recreation
Beloit is home to a professional minor league baseball team, the Beloit Sky Carp, who play in the High-A Central and are the High A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Sky Carp play their games at ABC Supply Stadium. Until August 3, 2021, they played at Harry C. Pohlman Field.
Transportation
Transit
The Beloit Transit System is the primary provider of mass transportation. Four regular routes provide service from Monday through Saturday. In collaboration with the Janesville Transit System, BTS operates an express route between the two cities.
Routes
Red East Side Cranston
Blue West Side
Yellow North End-Prairie
Brown Beloit-Janesville
Roads
Air
Beloit Airport is a small public-use GA airport within the city. It offers hangars for storing aircraft, gliders, and sky diving.
Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport is a public airport north of Beloit in Rock County. Formerly known as Rock County Airport, it is owned and operated by the Rock County government. The airport has no scheduled commercial passenger service.
Dane County Regional Airport and Rockford International Airport are the closest airports to Beloit that offer scheduled airline service.
Notable people
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
Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck, education professional
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)
Images
See also
Thompson Observatory
References
External links
City of Beloit
Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce
Visit Beloit
1836 establishments in Wisconsin Territory
Cities in Wisconsin
Cities in Rock County, Wisconsin
Populated places established in 1836