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History · Beloit Township

Beloit Township dates to 1868, and 55% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1880.

1868founded
0on the National Register
55%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Beloit Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Beloit Township began

When was Beloit Township founded?

1868

Beloit Township dates its founding to 1868 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,835 in 18802020 census: 176158 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Beloit Township’s past

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

On the map since 18943 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1985. Watch Beloit Township change.Old housesHalf of Beloit Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · On the map

Beloit Township on the map, 1894 to 1985

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

Beloit Township on the 1894 USGS mapBeloit Township on the 1953 USGS mapBeloit Township on the 1985 USGS map1894Beloit sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Beloit Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Beloit Township.

Read it all →

On permanent organization of the county in 1870, Beloit was selected as the county seat of Mitchell County, Kansas, and is located northeast of the center of the county on the Solomon River. In 1873, an iron bridge was built across the river, costing $10,000, equivalent to $254,333 in 2023. The town site of Beloit was first settled by A.A. Bell in 1868 with the idea of improving the water power and for some time was known as Willow Springs. The town was renamed to Beloit by Tim Hersey, one of the original founders and the first mayor, and is named after his hometown, Beloit, Wisconsin. A.A. Bell was appointed postmaster in 1870, and the first school was built in 1871. By 1898, the population was around 2500. Beloit sits at the junction of the Union Pacific and the Missouri Pacific Railroads. Local legend has it that the local Indians advised Bell to locate the town at a certain bend of…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Beloit Township, 1868 to 1993

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868
    FoundingBeloit Township is established
  3. 1868In the archiveView of a bridge at Beloit
  4. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1993In the archivePost Office, Main Street & Hersey Avenue
By decade

Beloit Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s2 items
View of a bridge at Beloitc. 1868View of a bridge at BeloitView of a bridge at Beloitc. 1868View of a bridge at Beloit
1990s1 item
Post Office, Main Street & Hersey Avenue1993Post Office, Main Street & Hersey Avenue
Date unknown2 to date
Portrait of girl by Greenwood ofDate?Portrait of girl by Greenwood ofView of a bridge atDate?View of a bridge at
Today4 recent
Beloit Kansas oblique aerial2025Beloit Kansas oblique aerialBeloit, Kansas2012Beloit, KansasDetailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapKSMap-doton-Beloit2004KSMap-doton-Beloit
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.

View of a bridge at Beloit
Retake this viewView of a bridge at Beloit, c. 1868

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Beloit Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,367

Between 1,835 and 4,367 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Help out

Start Beloit Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Beloit Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewView of a bridge at Beloit: 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.

Beloit5 historic placesB+Turkey Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAsherville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBloomfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPlum Creek Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLogan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Beloit Township’s history

What year was Beloit Township founded?

In 1868, according to Wikidata. the census of 1880 counted 1,835 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 (9), Wikidata (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.