1835
The first step toward settlement of the town of Beloit was made; the first settlement in that township was made within what is now the corporate limits of Beloit City, and John Inman, the Holmes family and others settled there.
The evidence
“The year 1835 marks the first step towards the settlement of this town. . The settlement began at the site of the present village of Beloit, at which place all the. settlers were domiciled until Us the land sale, which took place in February, 1888 or '9;”
1856-history-of-rock-county/06-beloit.md, PDF p. 65 / book p. 47
Guernsey, Orrin, and Josiah F. Willard, editors. History of Rock County, and Transactions of the Rock County Agricultural Society and Mechanics' Institute. Janesville, Wis.: William M. Doty & Brother, 1856. Cornell University Library via the Internet Archive, archive.org/details/cu31924028871593.
Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources
“The first settlement in this township was made in 1835 and was in what is now the corporate limits of Beloit City ; from that”
1908-brown-rock-county/31-smaller-cities-villages-towns.md, Vol. 2, PDF p. 173 / book p. 680
Brown, William Fiske, editor. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History of Its Cities, Villages, Towns, Citizens and Varied Interests, from the Earliest Times, Up to Date. Chicago: C. F. Cooper & Co., 1908. 2 vols. archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon01brow, archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon02brow.
Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources
“Mention has already been made of the settlement, in this town, of John inman, the Holmes family and others, in 1835, and of Dr. James Heath in 1836.”
1879-history-of-rock-county/13-rock-county-ch07-town-histories.md, PDF p. 521 / book p. 525
Butterfield, C. W., et al. The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879. Cornell University Library via the Internet Archive, archive.org/details/cu31924028871585.
Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources