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History · Belvidere Township

Belvidere Township dates to 1835, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

6 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1850.

1835founded
6on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
16old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Belvidere Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Belvidere Township began

When was Belvidere Township founded?

1835

Belvidere Township dates its founding to 1835 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 1,003 in 18502020 census: 29,441191 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓

What stands out about Belvidere Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos16 old photos, postcards and papers, 1907–1933.On the map since 19184 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1993. Watch Belvidere Township change.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1835: 191 years of Belvidere Township.
★ What stands out · By decade

Belvidere Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s16 items
E&B Belvidere Terminal1907E&B Belvidere TerminalE&B KishwaukeeBridge1907E&B KishwaukeeBridgePresident & Mrs Hoover in Belvidere IL cph.3b123191932President & Mrs Hoover in Belvidere IL cph.3b12319CORNICE DETAIL. (Disregard survey number shown in this photo) - Palmer House, 327 West Lincoln Avenue1933CORNICE DETAIL. (Disregard survey number shown in thi…Doorway - Wheeler House, 222 West Locust Street1933Doorway - Wheeler House, 222 West Locust StreetHABS ILL,4-BELV,2- (sheet 0 of 1) - Dunton House, 807 McKinley Avenue1933HABS ILL,4-BELV,2- (sheet 0 of 1) - Dunton House, 807…HABS ILL,4-BELV,2- (sheet 0 of 1) - Dunton House, 807 McKinley Avenue1933HABS ILL,4-BELV,2- (sheet 0 of 1) - Dunton House, 807…HABS ILL,4-BELV,2- (sheet 1 of 1) - Dunton House, 807 McKinley Avenue1933HABS ILL,4-BELV,2- (sheet 1 of 1) - Dunton House, 807…HABS ILL,4-BELV,2- (sheet 1 of 1) - Dunton House, 807 McKinley Avenue1933HABS ILL,4-BELV,2- (sheet 1 of 1) - Dunton House, 807…HABS ILL,4-BELV,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Jesse Hildrup House, 1215 North State Street1933HABS ILL,4-BELV,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Jesse Hildrup Hou…HABS ILL,4-BELV,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Jesse Hildrup House, 1215 North State Street1933HABS ILL,4-BELV,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Jesse Hildrup Hou…HABS ILL,4-BELV,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Jesse Hildrup House, 1215 North State Street1933HABS ILL,4-BELV,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Jesse Hildrup Hou…HABS ILL,4-BELV,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Jesse Hildrup House, 1215 North State Street1933HABS ILL,4-BELV,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Jesse Hildrup Hou…HABS ILL,4-BELV,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Jesse Hildrup House, 1215 North State Street1933HABS ILL,4-BELV,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Jesse Hildrup Hou…HABS ILL,4-BELV,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Jesse Hildrup House, 1215 North State Street1933HABS ILL,4-BELV,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Jesse Hildrup Hou…HABS ILL,4- ,1- (sheet 0 of 1) - Newton Farmhouse, Belvidere-Kirkland Road1933HABS ILL,4- ,1- (sheet 0 of 1) - Newton Farmhouse,…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Belvidere Township on the map, 1918 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Belvidere Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Belvidere Township on the 1918 USGS mapBelvidere Township on the 1944 USGS mapBelvidere Township on the 1970 USGS mapBelvidere Township on the 1993 USGS map1918Belvidere sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Belvidere Township.

On the National Register

6 listings protect 79 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
79
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Belvidere Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Belvidere Township.

Read it all →

Before the arrival of the mostly Anglo-Americans in the 19th century, this area was long occupied by the Illinois Confederation, a loose grouping of up to 12 to 15 Native American tribes. The main tribes were the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Peoria, and Tamaroa. After trading, warfare and other encounters with French traders, who entered this area before the Anglo-Americans, their numbers declined. In large part due to the high mortality from new infectious diseases, which adversely affected Native Americans across the continent.

Chapters1967 tornado2009 explosion2023 tornado

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Belvidere Township, 1835 to 1932

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835
    FoundingBelvidere Township is established
  3. 1852Post officeThe Boone post office opens
  4. 1861Post officeThe Boone post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907In the archiveE&B Belvidere Terminal
  7. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1932In the archivePresident & Mrs Hoover in Belvidere IL cph.3b12319
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

E&B Belvidere Terminal
Retake this viewE&B Belvidere Terminal, 1907

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Belvidere Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Belvidere Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,0001850190019502000Peak: 25,585

Between 1,003 and 25,585 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Belvidere Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Boone, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
EdgewoodPark Meadowlands West Mobile Home Court
Gone or out of use
Abbe SchoolschoolBoone County HomelocaleBrick SchoolschoolSquaw Prairie SchoolschoolState Street MinemineWhite Pigeon Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Belvidere Township
DavisHighland Garden of MemoriesOrthSaint James Catholic

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Belvidere Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewE&B Belvidere Terminal: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Flora TownshipIts storyCBonus TownshipIts storyC+Rockford Township35 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCaledonia TownshipIts storyC−Loves ParkIts storyD

Questions about Belvidere Township’s history

What year was Belvidere Township founded?

In 1835, according to Wikidata. Belvidere Township’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1850 counted 1,003 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 (16), Wikidata (2), 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.