Early Belvidere

The location where Belvidere now sits was first settled in 1835 by a Mr. Whitney, who in tribute named the place Elysian Fields. The name was later changed to Belvidere by a Mr. Peck.

Belvidere was originally built on the north side of the Kishwaukee 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.

Belvidere used to have two Hospitals, St. Joseph Hospital and Highland Hospital. Both have since closed with the latest closing being that of St. Joseph's in 1999.

1967 Tornado

On April 21, 1967 a devastating tornado 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.

 Miss America

In 1968 Belvidere native Judith Anne Ford won the Miss America pageant as Miss Illinois. Judith Anne Ford graduated from Belvidere High School. Her talent was gymnastics and she was the first Miss America to go to Vietnam as part of a USO tour. Ms Ford was the only contestant to show up for the Miss Boone County Pageant so she was selected and sent to the state pageant.

School District

As of January 2007, budget cuts were decided upon because of the failed November referendum. The cuts will not take place the following school year if the April 17 referendum passes. Otherwise, students throughout District #100 will suffer from lack of sports and co-curricular activities. A few months after the November referendum failed, it was announced that Superintendent Donald Schlomann would be moving to district 303, St. Charles.

Update: The April 17th referendum failed, it was voted down 5,362 to 5,101. Cuts will appear to take place in the school district.

2nd Update: The Belvidere school board takes a leap of faith. They vote to dip into their savings to open two high schools next year, with two sets of sports teams.

In a five-one vote, the board chose to open both Belvidere and Belvidere North next year. Both high schools will have their own sports teams and co-curriculars.

On April 18th students walked out of Belvidere High School because of failure of the referendum. This walk-out was interpreted in a multitude of ways from "children stomping their feet" to "well-organized and peaceful student protest".

Businesses in Belvidere

Chrysler operates Belvidere Assembly an auto assembly plant, originally constructed in the mid-1960s, in Belvidere. The Belvidere plant manufactured the Dodge Neon until the spring of 2006. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the plant manufactured Chrysler Newports and Plymouth Furys. After a massive restructuring of the Belvidere plant, the plant is now one of the most modern auto assembly plants in the USA. It produces the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot. Recent years have seen significant growth in local industry and employment. Businesses that have located facilities in Belvidere include: Belvedere Company(Beauty Salon Equipment), CamCar/Textron Inc. (Fastener Manufacturing), Carpenter Components Of Illinois (Carpentry), DaimlerChrysler Corporation (Automotive Plant), Dean Foods (Food Distribution Facility), Franklin Wire Works (Wire Products Manufacturing), General Mills (Food Distribution Facility), Cassens Transportation Company (Transportation), PACTIV Corporation, (Manufacturing of Paperboard and Trays), Physicians Immediate Care (Urgent Care / Healthcare), and Practice Velocity, (Electronic Medical Records).