Beloit Wisconsin Historic Attractions

www.roychapmanandrewssociety.org
608/365-4838

Reputedly, Beloit was home to the original Indiana Jones: the world adventurer and explorer Roy Chapman Andrews. Andrews is best remembered for the series of dramatic expeditions he led to the Gobi Desert of Mongolia from 1922 to 1930. Andrews's expeditions to the Gobi remain significant for their finds of the first nests of dinosaur eggs,new species of dinosaurs, and fossils of early mammals that co-existed with dinosaurs. Each year the Roy Chapman Andrews Society partners with Beloit College to recognize contemporary explorers with the Roy Chapman Andrews Distinguished Explorer Award. Artifacts from Andrews explorations can be found at the Logan Museum of Anthropology atBeloit College, located at College & Bushnell Streets.

700 College Street, Beloit
www.beloit.edu

Established in 1846 (two years before Wisconsin became a State), Beloit College is Wisconsin’s oldest college in continuous service. A walking tour of the 40-acre, wooded, New England style campus reveals 28 buildings of diverse architectural styles; four are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Serving over 1,100 students from more than 40 countries, this liberal arts school is ranked among the top undergraduate colleges in the U.S. For a walking tour brochure, call Visit Beloit at 800/423-5648.

Logan Museum of Anthropology at Beloit College

The Logan Museum is located in what was once called Memorial Hall at Beloit College, built in 1869 to commemorate the men of Beloit who perished in the Civil War. In 1892 Frank Logan, a wealthy Chicago grain merchant, purchased a collection of around 3,000 Native American archaeological and ethnographic objects from Horatio Nelson Rust, a traveling salesman, Indian agent, and collector of Native American antiquities. He later donated his collection to Beloit College. He continued to grow the college’s collection by funding 15 expeditions, including several expeditions to Africa, Europe, and the American Southwest. 

Today you can view artifacts from around the world at the internationally renowned Logan Museum of Anthropology. Displays include Native American baskets, Pre-Columbian and Prehistoric Native American ceramics and archaeological specimens from the Beloit vicinity. Roy Chapman Andrews is a significant figure in the history of the Logan Museum, and is one of the College’s most famous alumnus explorers. Many believe that because of his lifelong adventures, Andrews was the model for the popular ‘Indiana Jones’ character.

Beloit College Campus Mounds
Click here for Map 

Way before the first white settlers “discovered” Beloit, Native Americans dwelled here along the Rock River and Turtle Creek. Evidence of their existence can be found in the form of earth mounds located at Beloit College and at Totem Park tucked away along the Turtle Creek in Beloit. Built around AD 700 to AD 1200 by Native Americans, the mounds are believed to have helped define territories, build family unity, and used as final resting places for tribal members. Once estimated to number as high as 20,000, the Beloit Mounds now represent a few of the less than 3,000 remaining mounds in North America. Early settlers to Beloit talked about the many mounds found in the area, but many were destroyed as part of "progress".

Discover the twenty-three conical, linear, and animal shaped effigy mounds found throughout the Beloit College campus.  You can view many of the excavated tools and broken pottery artifacts in the permanent collection of the Beloit College Logan Museum of Anthropology. One of the effigy mounds is shaped like a turtle and inspired the turtle symbol of the college. In fact turtles have been adopted as the “official” symbol of the city of Beloit and can be found in many places throughout the community. At Totem Park you’ll find two effigy mounds, one that is over 150 feet long! That one was originally thought to be a long tailed turtle, but now this mound shape is called “long-tailed water spirits” by experts and may have been based on a mythical creature, rather than an actual animal. This type of mound shape is usually found near water and can be found in other places in Wisconsin. Is the mound a turtle? You decide! There are other conical and other shaped mounds scattered in Totem Park, but only 4 of them have been designated as official mounds. Today there are still more mounds found in the Beloit area, but are lacoated on private property.

Riverside Park, Riverside Dr., Hwy. 51, Beloit Click here for map

Take a walk through Beloit’s history along the Heritage Walkway, an engraved brick pathway located at the Harry C. Moore Pavilion in Riverside Park. Hundreds of engraved bricks help trace Beloit’s history from Blackhawk Wars to the twenty-first century. People purchase bricks to commemorate loved ones or special occasions. Additional bricks are added to the walkway each September during Heritage Days. Become part of Beloit's historical timeline! - Add your own brick to the Heritage Walkway by visiting www.friendsofriverfront.com

517 Prospect Ave., Beloit Click here for Map

Built in 1850 and occupied by the first president of Beloit College, this cobblestone house is a Wisconsin Landmark and is one of the finest remaining examples of cobblestone architecture of Beloit and the State of Wisconsin.  Beloit College Students from the first graduating class of the college helped gather cobble stones from the bed of Turtle Creek and hauled them in basket to the contruction site. Today it is owned and maintained by the Beloit Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and available for interior tours during Heritage Days in September.  

For those hot on Abraham Lincoln’s trail be sure to find the three historical markers located in Beloit commemorating his stops in the area. In 1859, he addressed the citizens of Beloit from the third floor of Hanchett Hall in downtown Beloit, 307 State Street. An additional marker can be found along the Rock River which commemorates when Lincoln camped in Beloit as a member of the militia unit that pursued fleeing Indians during the 1832 Blackhawk War. A third marker can be found on Hwy. 51 between Beloit and Janesville, commemorating Lincoln’s journey between the two cities in 1859. Copies of the book “Lincoln in Beloit” can be purchased at the Beloit Historical Society, 608/365-7835. 

A walking tour of the gracious Bluff Street Historic District along the Rock River’s west bank is divided into two parts and consists of nineteen historic homes and churches representing varied architectural styles. The Bluff Street District is one of the older residential areas of the city. Most of the homes featured were built in the late 1800’s.
A detailed guide book for these historic tours is available at Visit Beloit or call 800-423-5648.

Stroll through the quiet, shaded neighborhood of Beloit’s Near East Side Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Established on the original plat of Beloit, the neighborhood is centered around a public square or commons known as Horace White Park. Beloit College is located in  this historic neighborhood. Twenty seven historic homes, churches, and buildings represent a variety of architectural styles including Italianate, Greek, Gothic, and Romanesque Revival, plus an example of a Rock County cobblestone home. A detailed guide book for these historic tours is available at Visit Beloit or call 800-423-5648.

E. Smith Road, Shopiere, WI  Click here for map

Marvel at the world’s only remaining five-arch stone railway bridge. Built using hand labor in 1869, the 388-foot bridge spans Turtle Creek and provides camera buffs picturesque vistas year round. Located in the charming community of Shopiere just a few minutes from Beloit. The area near the bridge is a favorite launching spot for kayaking and canoeing enthusiasts.