The story
Read it all →How Bellmont came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Bellmont.
Bellmont is named for Judge Robert S. Bell (1828–1906), who served as a county judge for Wabash during the 1870s.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Bellmont
Bellmont’s post office opened in 1874, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1880.
1874first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Bellmont began
When was Bellmont founded?
1874
The Bellmont post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 350 in 18802020 census: 247152 years
Founding year: the first Bellmont post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Bellmont’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bellmont are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 624 in 1900; 247 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1986. Watch Bellmont change.Old housesHalf of Bellmont’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Bellmont’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bellmont’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Bellmont, census by census
Peaked at 624 in 1900; 247 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bellmont’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Bellmont on the map, 1903 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bellmont. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1903Patoka sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bellmont.
Timeline
Bellmont, 1874 to 1903
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1874Post officeThe Bellmont post office opens
- 20th century
- 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 624
- 1903
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Bellmont, decade by decade
2020
2020
2020
2020Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Bellmont
Nobody well known was born in Bellmont itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Bellmont’s history
What year was Bellmont founded?
The Bellmont post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.