An act incorporating the city of Beloit was approved (chapter 452, private and local laws of 1856); the 1879 history dates the legislature's passage of the act to March 1856.

The evidence

• “By chapter 452, of the private and local laws of 1856, approved March 31, 1856, the city of Beloit was incorporated, and”

  1908-brown-rock-county/05-historic-evolution.md, Vol. 1, PDF p. 140 / book p. 125

  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

• “alotte, to mean "handsome ground"; the spelling was then fashioned after Detroit, which the community saw as a great symbol of trade and growth. The first African-Americans living in Beloit were Emmanuel Craig, a coachman, and his family. Arriving in the mid-1830s, the Craigs were among those who witnessed the formation of the township government in 1842 and the founding of Beloit College in 1846, two years before Wisconsin achieved statehood. Beloit was founded in 1836, incorporated as a village February 24, 1846, and officially incorporated as a city by the State of Wisconsin on March 31, 1856. The citizens adopted a Council-Manager form of government in 1929. Over one hundred and fifty years after incorporation, the City of Beloit covers approximately 17 square miles. It is home to 36,376 residents, 937 businesses, including 123 manufacturers and 250 retail stores, several corporate headquarters, a minor league baseball team, several museums, and an internationally acclaimed college that bears the community's name.”

  https://public.powerdms.com/CityOfBeloit/documents/2856538

  public.powerdms.com, https://public.powerdms.com/CityOfBeloit/documents/2856538

  Grade B: Found on an institutional web page