Caleb Blodgett purchased the claim associated with Joseph Thibault at the future Beloit site. The transaction marked the documented transfer of the location from a French-associated fur-trade claimant to an American settler.

The evidence

• “In the early 1800s, the Ho-Chunk Nation fled Ke-Chunk as the Blackhawk War came into the area, and the government forced them to move west. - Fred Burwell: Because the Native Americans had mostly moved on, trading was not good for him anymore. He was looking to move on. And when Caleb Blodgett from Vermont came out here, he made a deal with Thibault. - Beatrice McKenzie: Caleb Blodgett was a land speculator and the first settler in Beloit. In May 1836, he purchased the claim that Joseph Thibault had made for a disputed amount, something between $200 and $500. - Blodgett bought Thibault's land claim, which amounted to what they called three "looks," an estimated 7,000 acres. As word began to spread out east of available land in the territories, other people started to organize and look west for new opportunities. - Fred Burwell: The New England Emigrating Company was formed in Colebrook, New Hampshire. Many of the citizens there were looking”

  https://www.pbs.org/video/wisconsin-hometown-stories-beloit-dbey0s/

  pbs.org, https://www.pbs.org/video/wisconsin-hometown-stories-beloit-dbey0s/

  Grade B: Found on an institutional web page