Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Belmont

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Belmont

Belmont dates to 1833, and 64% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.

1833founded
3on the National Register
64%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Belmont’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Belmont began

When was Belmont founded?

1833

Belmont dates its founding to 1833 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 795 in 18702020 census: 856193 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1838.The full story ↓

What stands out about Belmont’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Belmont’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,211 in 1950; 856 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1909, drew every building in Belmont.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Belmont’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBelmont Station: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Belmont came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Belmont.

Read it all →

Belmont was founded in 1833 as "Philipsburg", named after early settler Philip Church. The village of Belmont was incorporated in 1853 as "Philipsville". When the village assumed the community of Miltonville on the east bank of the Genesee River, it was renamed "Belmont" after an 1870 referendum. The name comes from the French word beaumont, meaning "beautiful hill".

The village became the county seat in 1859, replacing the village of Angelica.

The following are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Belmont Grange No. 1243, Belmont Literary and Historical Society Free Library, and the Belmont Hotel.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Belmont, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,211

Peaked at 1,211 in 1950; 856 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Timeline

Belmont, 1833 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833
    FoundingBelmont is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1909In the archiveBelmont Station
  5. 1910In the archiveErie Railroad bridge in Belmont NY 1910 postcard
  6. 1925On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,211
By decade

Belmont, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s3 items
Belmont Station1909Belmont StationErie Railroad bridge in Belmont NY 1909 postcard1909Erie Railroad bridge in Belmont NY 1909 postcardPostcardErie Railroad bridge in Belmont NY 1910 postcard1910Erie Railroad bridge in Belmont NY 1910 postcardPostcard
1920s–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
Today9 recent
Belmont Free Library2021Belmont Free LibraryUntitled photo2020Untitled photoBelmont grange demolition2020Belmont grange demolitionBelmont Literary and Historical Society Free Library 2012-09-29 21-50-182012Belmont Literary and Historical Society Free Library …Belmont Hotel 2012-09-29 21-54-082012Belmont Hotel 2012-09-29 21-54-08Belmont Hotel 2012-09-29 21-53-272012Belmont Hotel 2012-09-29 21-53-27Belmont Grange No- 1243 2012-09-29 21-49-072012Belmont Grange No- 1243 2012-09-29 21-49-07Belmont Grange No- 1243 2012-09-29 21-48-072012Belmont Grange No- 1243 2012-09-29 21-48-07Untitled photo2010Untitled photo
On the map

Belmont on the map, 1925 to 1978

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

Belmont on the 1925 USGS mapBelmont on the 1939 USGS mapBelmont on the 1965 USGS mapBelmont on the 1978 USGS map1925Belmont 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 Belmont.

Every building

Belmont, building by building, 1886–1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Belmont fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Belmont Station
Retake this viewBelmont Station, 1909

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Belmont

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Belmont

Nobody well known was born in Belmont itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Charles IngallsFather of author Laura Ingalls Wilder · b. 1836
Adam McMullenAmerican politician · b. 1872
Charles Monroe SheldonAmerican writer · b. 1857
Frank Wayland HigginsAmerican politician · b. 1856
Jason DunhamUnited States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recip… · b. 1981
K
Kathryn WoolardAmerican linguistic anthropologist · b. 1950

Questions about Belmont’s history

What year was Belmont founded?

In 1833, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Belmont’s post office opened in 1838, and the census of 1870 counted 795 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 (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.