Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listings are the Odeon Theater, the Gimmestad Land and Loan Office and the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad Depot. Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1900.
The Belview post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Belview’s history is told.
Peaked at 438 in 1980; 291 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Belview’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Belview.
A post office called Belview has been in operation since 1887. Belview was platted in 1889. The name Belview is derived from the French language, meaning "beautiful view". Belview was incorporated in 1893.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Belview, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The parochial schools of the county are located as follows : Norwegian Lutheran, in the village of Belview, District 74; Swedish Lutheran, in the village of Belview, District 74; Norwegian Lutheran, in District 10 in Swedes Forest township; Norwegian Lutheran, in District 52 in Swedes Forest township; Norwegian Lutheran, in District 5 in Swedes Forest township ; German Lutheran, in Section 5, Sheridan township ; German Lutheran, in the village of Redwood Falls, District 1 ; German Lutheran, in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Minnesota and into South Dakota. The construction of this line was followed by the location of three different townsites — one at North Redwood, the second at Delhi, and the third at Belview. The village of Belview is apparently now the largest one of these three villages. It is the only one of the three villages that is blessed with a newspaper. Prior to 1895, Belview, as well as the other two villages, were given departments in the two papers at Redwood Falls, the latter vying with one another as
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first settlers had located in Redwood Falls only eight years before. Scarcely ten years had passed since the Indian massacre had ravaged the valley. The village of Belview had not been thought of. The land was all wild, and the task of breaking was most difficult. Grain had to be hauled to Willmar or New Ulm by ox team, and there, too, lumber and supplies had to be obtained.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Belview. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Belview.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The Belview post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Three places: the Odeon Theater (listed 1974), the Gimmestad Land and Loan Office (1980) and the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad Depot (1980).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2005