The story
Read it all →How Belwood came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Belwood.
Belwood was incorporated in 1978. The name of the town means "beautiful woods."
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Belwood
Belwood’s post office opened in 1882
Most of Belwood was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1980.
1882first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Belwood began
When was Belwood founded?
1882
The Belwood post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Rockdale (1904), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 613 in 19802020 census: 857144 years
Founding year: the first Belwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Belwood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Belwood’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Belwood’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Belwood, 1882 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Belwood, decade by decade
2021
2021
2021
2021
2004On the map
Belwood on the map, 1950 to 2002
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Belwood. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Shelby sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Belwood.
People over time
Belwood, census by census
Between 613 and 962 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Belwood’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Belwood
Nobody well known was born in Belwood itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Belwood had its own post office from 1882 to 1954. Another post office, Rockdale, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Belwood
Rockdale
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Rockdale
Gone or out of use
Dixon Fordlocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Belwood’s history
What year was Belwood founded?
The Belwood post office opened in 1882, 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 (5), 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.