Belvidere, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Belvidere is a city in Boone County, Illinois
, United States
. The population was 25,585 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat
of Boone County. Belvidere is part of the Rockford, Illinois
Metropolitan Statistical Area
.
that is approximately 800 feet (243.8 m) above sea level
. Located in north central Illinois
, Belvidere is approximately 75 miles (120.7 km) northwest of the downtown
of Chicago
, and approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) east of Rockford
. Belvidere is divided by the Kishwaukee River
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 9.1 square miles (23.6 km²), of which, 9.1 square miles (23.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.55%) is water.
Belvidere is located in north central Illinois and is 75 miles from downtown Chicago on Routes 20, 76 and the Northern Illinois Toll road, with the Kishwaukee River
dividing the town. We have an industrial community surrounded by prosperous farms. It is the County Seat with an estimated 2006 county population of over 52,000. Our altitude is 800 feet above sea level, average temperatures are: 73 degrees F in the summer; 24 degrees F in the winter, and the average rainfall is 33.3 inches.
"Elysian Fields". Census figures show 37 residents in that year. Belvidere was originally built on the north side of the river. In 1851, a railroad was built south of the river, the business section followed to the south side of the river, where Belvidere's downtown is now located.
struck Belvidere. Twenty-four lives were lost in the tornado, many of whom were school children. The F4 tornado
struck at the end of the school day of Belvidere High School, while many children including those that attended area grade schools were waiting on school buses outside of the high school. Out of sixteen school buses outside of the high school, twelve were overturned or thrown. The tornado did US$ 22 million in damage, demolished over 100 homes, and injured over 300. In 2007 a statue was erected in front of Belvidere High School in memorial of the lives lost.
won the Miss America pageant
as Miss Illinois
. Ford was a Belvidere High School graduate. She was the first Miss America to go to Vietnam as part of a USO tour.
building. A truck driver from Indiana at the nearby Belvidere Oasis hotel was struck fatally by flying debris. The explosion's shock wave shook ceilings and doors in the area. No cause has been determined as of 2011.
, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
, the Lampert-Wildflower House
, and the James Knox Taylor
designed Belvidere Post Office
are listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Parks include Spencer Park, Belvidere Municipal Park, and the Boone County Fairgrounds. Belvidere is known as the "City of Murals", for its numerous murals. The Left Behind
series fictional character Rayford Steele
was born there.
's interment site) and St. James Catholic Cemetery. The nearest general aviation
airport is Poplar Grove Airport
, formerly known as Belvidere Airport. Schools include Belvidere High School
, part of the Belvidere Community Unit School District 100
.
operates the Belvidere Assembly Plant, an auto assembly plant, originally constructed in the mid-1960s. The Belvidere plant manufactured the Dodge Neon
until the spring of 2005. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the plant manufactured Chrysler Newport
s and Plymouth Fury
s. After a massive restructuring of the Belvidere plant, it is now one of the most modern auto assembly plants in the United States. It produces the Dodge Caliber
, Jeep Compass
and Jeep Patriot
.
Other businesses with facilities or headquarters in Belvidere include:
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 25,585 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Boone County. Belvidere is part of the Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Rockford metropolitan area
The Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in north-central Illinois, anchored by the city of Rockford. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 320,204...
.
Geography
Belvidere is located at 42°15′17"N 88°50′39"W (42.254758, -88.844093), and sits at an altitudeAltitude
Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...
that is approximately 800 feet (243.8 m) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. Located in north central Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Belvidere is approximately 75 miles (120.7 km) northwest of the downtown
Chicago Loop
The Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...
of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) east of Rockford
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
. Belvidere is divided by the Kishwaukee River
Kishwaukee River
The Kishwaukee River, sometimes locally known as simply "The Kish", is a river in the U.S. state of Illinois. "The Kish" is famous for its high number of bridges that cross within its 100-year floodplain.-Location:...
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 9.1 square miles (23.6 km²), of which, 9.1 square miles (23.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.55%) is water.
Belvidere is located in north central Illinois and is 75 miles from downtown Chicago on Routes 20, 76 and the Northern Illinois Toll road, with the Kishwaukee River
Kishwaukee River
The Kishwaukee River, sometimes locally known as simply "The Kish", is a river in the U.S. state of Illinois. "The Kish" is famous for its high number of bridges that cross within its 100-year floodplain.-Location:...
dividing the town. We have an industrial community surrounded by prosperous farms. It is the County Seat with an estimated 2006 county population of over 52,000. Our altitude is 800 feet above sea level, average temperatures are: 73 degrees F in the summer; 24 degrees F in the winter, and the average rainfall is 33.3 inches.
History
The location where Belvidere exists today was first settled in 1835 by a Mr. Whitney, who named the location next to the Kishwaukee RiverKishwaukee River
The Kishwaukee River, sometimes locally known as simply "The Kish", is a river in the U.S. state of Illinois. "The Kish" is famous for its high number of bridges that cross within its 100-year floodplain.-Location:...
"Elysian Fields". Census figures show 37 residents in that year. Belvidere was originally built on the north side of the river. In 1851, a railroad was built south of the river, the business section followed to the south side of the river, where Belvidere's downtown is now located.
1967 tornado
On April 21, 1967, a devastating tornadoTornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
struck Belvidere. Twenty-four lives were lost in the tornado, many of whom were school children. The F4 tornado
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
struck at the end of the school day of Belvidere High School, while many children including those that attended area grade schools were waiting on school buses outside of the high school. Out of sixteen school buses outside of the high school, twelve were overturned or thrown. The tornado did US$ 22 million in damage, demolished over 100 homes, and injured over 300. In 2007 a statue was erected in front of Belvidere High School in memorial of the lives lost.
1969 Miss America
In 1969 Belvidere native Judith Anne FordJudith Ford
Judi Nash [née Judith Anne Ford] is a retired teacher who was Miss America 1969. Ford qualified to compete in the Miss America pageant by winning first the title of Miss Boone County and then the Miss Illinois pageant...
won the Miss America pageant
Miss America 1969
Miss America 1969, the 42nd Miss America, pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 7, 1968 on NBC Network.- Results :*Miss America 1969: Judith Ford...
as Miss Illinois
Miss Illinois
The Miss Illinois competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Illinois in the Miss America pageant. The Miss Illinois pageant started in 1927, several years after the initial Miss America pageant. The first "Miss Illinois" sent to the national pageant, Lois Delander,...
. Ford was a Belvidere High School graduate. She was the first Miss America to go to Vietnam as part of a USO tour.
2009 explosion
On December 7, 2009 there was an explosion at the NDK AmericaNihon Dempa Kogyo
Nihon Dempa Kogyo Co., Ltd. or is one of the world's largest Quartz Crystal Companies, based in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.Using its synthetic quartz crystals, NDK produces crystal-related products such as crystal devices , and also, ultrasonic transducers for medical use...
building. A truck driver from Indiana at the nearby Belvidere Oasis hotel was struck fatally by flying debris. The explosion's shock wave shook ceilings and doors in the area. No cause has been determined as of 2011.
Culture
Pettit Memorial ChapelPettit Memorial Chapel
Pettit Memorial Chapel or simply, Pettit Chapel, is one of the few chapels ever designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Pettit Chapel is located in the Belvidere Cemetery in Belvidere, Illinois, United States, which is in Boone County. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic...
, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
, the Lampert-Wildflower House
Lampert-Wildflower House
The Lampert-Wildflower House is a home in the U.S. city of Belvidere, Boone County, Illinois. The main, upright, portion of the house was constructed in 1838 and the wing section was added to the home during the 1860s. It passed through the hands of several owners until it was purchased by Phillip...
, and the James Knox Taylor
James Knox Taylor
James Knox Taylor was Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1897 to 1912. His name is listed ex officio as supervising architect of hundreds of federal buildings built throughout the United States during the period.-Early career:The son of H...
designed Belvidere Post Office
U.S. Post Office (Belvidere, Illinois)
The Belvidere U.S. Post Office is a historic building located in the Illinois city's downtown business district. It was built in 1911 and represents a good example of Classical Revival architecture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as United States Post Office-Belvidere in...
are listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Parks include Spencer Park, Belvidere Municipal Park, and the Boone County Fairgrounds. Belvidere is known as the "City of Murals", for its numerous murals. The Left Behind
Left Behind
Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
series fictional character Rayford Steele
Rayford Steele
Rayford Steele is a fictional character and the de facto protagonist in the Left Behind series of novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. He is the leader of the group known as the Tribulation Force, and is the most elaborated character in the series....
was born there.
Services
Belvidere used to have two hospitals, St. Joseph Hospital and Highland Hospital, both of which having recently closed, with St. Joseph's closing in 1999. In 2008, SwedishAmerican Hospital opened a hospital, and in 2009, they renovated and reopened the former Highland Hospital, which has the city's only emergency department. Cemeteries include the Belvidere Cemetery (Richard S. MolonyRichard S. Molony
Richard Sheppard Molony was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.Born in Northfield, New Hampshire, Molony studied medicine. He graduated from Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1838 and commenced the practice of his profession in Belvidere, Illinois...
's interment site) and St. James Catholic Cemetery. The nearest general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
airport is Poplar Grove Airport
Poplar Grove Airport
Poplar Grove Airport is a small general aviation airport located in Poplar Grove, Illinois, US. The airport was founded in 1972 as Belvidere Airport, and renamed in 1994. It is located 3 miles south of Poplar Grove, Illinois, and 3 miles north of Belvidere, Illinois. It is the home of the and , a...
, formerly known as Belvidere Airport. Schools include Belvidere High School
Belvidere High School (Belvidere, Illinois)
Belvidere High School is located in at 1500 East Ave., Belvidere, Illinois, 61008 in Boone County.The school is perhaps most notable for the deaths of 13 students and staff on the afternoon of April 21, 1967 when an F4 tornado struck the school as part of a massive tornado outbreak in the Midwest...
, part of the Belvidere Community Unit School District 100
Belvidere Community Unit School District 100
Belvidere Community Unit School District 100 is a unified school district located in Belvidere, the county seat of Boone County, Illinois. The school district is composed of twelve schools in all, with all schools being located in the city limits of Belvidere with the exception of Kishwaukee...
.
Business
ChryslerChrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
operates the Belvidere Assembly Plant, an auto assembly plant, originally constructed in the mid-1960s. The Belvidere plant manufactured the Dodge Neon
Dodge Neon
The Plymouth/Dodge Neon, sold in Europe, Mexico, Canada, and elsewhere outside the United States as the Chrysler Neon, is a compact front wheel drive car introduced in January 1994 for the 1995 model year by Chrysler Corporation's Dodge and Plymouth brands...
until the spring of 2005. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the plant manufactured Chrysler Newport
Chrysler Newport
The Newport was a name used by the Chrysler division of the Chrysler Corporation used as both a hardtop body designation and also for its lowest priced model between 1961 and 1981...
s and Plymouth Fury
Plymouth Fury
The Plymouth Fury is an automobile which was produced by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation from 1956 to 1978. The Fury was introduced as a premium-priced model designed to showcase the line, with the intent to draw consumers into showrooms....
s. After a massive restructuring of the Belvidere plant, it is now one of the most modern auto assembly plants in the United States. It produces the Dodge Caliber
Dodge Caliber
The Dodge Caliber was a compact car produced by the Dodge division of Chrysler. It replaced the Neon, and it went on sale in the spring of 2006 as a 2007 model year vehicle...
, Jeep Compass
Jeep Compass
The Jeep Compass is a compact crossover SUV introduced for the 2007 model year. The Jeep Compass, along with the Patriot both slot below the Jeep Wrangler as Jeep's entry-level sport utility vehicles, and is one of Jeep's first crossover SUVs....
and Jeep Patriot
Jeep Patriot
The Jeep Patriot is a compact crossover SUV introduced in early 2007 for the 2007 model year by the Jeep marque of Chrysler. It debuted publicly in April 2006 at the New York Auto Show and slots between the Compass and Liberty in the Jeep lineup...
.
Other businesses with facilities or headquarters in Belvidere include:
- Belvedere Co., beauty salon equipment provider
- Carpenter Components of Illinois, part of R & D Thiel, a division of Carpenter Contractors of America
- Dean Foods ice cream factory
- General Mills food distribution facility
- PACTIV Corp., paperboard manufacturer
- Physicians Immediate Care, urgent care provider
- Practice Velocity, electronic medical records company
- MetalithMetalithThe Metalith is a prefabricated steel barrier and the name of the product division of Infrastructure Defense Technologies of Belvidere, Illinois, which manufactures the barrier. It is used in perimeter defense against explosive penetration and ramming...
, a division of Infrastructure Defense Technologies, which produces flood and explosion barriers for military and civilian use - Nihon Dempa KogyoNihon Dempa KogyoNihon Dempa Kogyo Co., Ltd. or is one of the world's largest Quartz Crystal Companies, based in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.Using its synthetic quartz crystals, NDK produces crystal-related products such as crystal devices , and also, ultrasonic transducers for medical use...
's US headquarters, NDK America
Notable residents
- Matt BarrMatt Barr (American football)Matt Barr is an American football quarterback with the Western Illinois Leathernecks football team. During the 2010 season, Barr threw for 3,410 yards 27 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in 13 games. He also ran for 675 yards and 7 touchdowns...
, nationally recognized quarterback at Western Illinois UniversityWestern Illinois UniversityWestern Illinois University is a public university founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. Like many similar institutions of the time, Western Illinois State Normal School focused on teacher training for its relatively small body of students. As the normal school grew, it became... - Joe CharboneauJoe CharboneauJoseph Charboneau was a Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Indians and is one of the most often-cited examples of a flash in the pan or of baseball's fabled sophomore jinx....
- Emory S. BogardusEmory S. BogardusEmory S. Bogardus was a prominent figure in the history of American sociology...
- Amanda LevensAmanda LevensAmanda Kay Levens is a former women's basketball player who played in college and had a brief stint in the Women's National Basketball Association...
- Judith FordJudith FordJudi Nash [née Judith Anne Ford] is a retired teacher who was Miss America 1969. Ford qualified to compete in the Miss America pageant by winning first the title of Miss Boone County and then the Miss Illinois pageant...
- Charles Eugene FullerCharles Eugene FullerCharles Eugene Fuller was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.Born near Belvidere, Illinois, Fuller attended the common schools.He studied law.He was admitted to the bar in 1870 and commenced practice in Belvidere, Illinois...