Beloit, city, Rock county, southern Wisconsin, U.S. It lies along the Illinois state line at the confluence of the Rock River and Turtle Creek, about 15 miles (25 km) south of Janesville. The area had recently been inhabited by Ho-Chunk Nation (Winnebago) Indians when the first permanent settler, Caleb Blodgett of New Hampshire, purchased the site from a French fur trader in 1836. The following year more settlers from New Hampshire arrived, calling themselves the New England Immigrating Company; the community eventually was named Beloit. The village pledged land, labour, and money for a college, and Beloit College was founded there in 1846.
The centre of a rich agricultural area (corn [maize], soybeans, and tobacco) and the focal point of area commerce, the city also has manufacturing (papermaking and woodworking machinery, diesel engines, power-transmission equipment, tools, and food-service equipment) and food processing (meat and snack foods). The Angel Museum features some 11,000 angel dolls and other items. Inc. 1857. Pop. (2000) 35,775; (2010) 36,966.