Belvidere () is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Illinois, United States. It is settled on the Kishwaukee River in far northern Illinois. The population was 25,339 at the 2020 census. Belvidere is part of the Rockford metropolitan area.
Known as the "City of Murals", Belvidere is home to several public art installations throughout the North and South State Street historic districts, which are on the National Register of Historic Places. These historic districts are home to the Boone County Museum of History, the Funderburg House Museum, several restaurants and bars, and antique and boutique stores. Popular festivities like Heritage Days are held yearly.
History
thumb|Belvidere, 1936
Before the arrival of the mostly Anglo-Americans in the 19th century, this area was long occupied by the Illinois Confederation, a loose grouping of up to 12 to 15 Native American tribes. The main tribes were the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Peoria, and Tamaroa. After trading, warfare and other encounters with French traders, who entered this area before the Anglo-Americans, their numbers declined. In large part due to the high mortality from new infectious diseases, which adversely affected Native Americans across the continent.
The area developed as Belvidere was first settled by European Americans in 1835: Simon P. Doty and Daniel Hilton Whitney. They named this location next to the Kishwaukee River as "Elysian Fields" from Greek mythology. Because new residents could not pronounce or spell the proposed name, the city was eventually renamed after Belvidere, Virginia, the former home of Ebenezer Polk, a railroad lawyer and major financial founder in the city.
Belvidere originally developed on the north side of the Kishwaukee River. In 1851 the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad was built south of the river, stimulating the relocation of much of the business section to the south side of the river, giving access to railway transportation. Belvidere's downtown is now on the south side.
Major industries developed along the river and railroad, including the National Sewing Machine Company, which operated here from 1886 to the 1940s. In 1906, former female sheriff Sarah Ames moved to South Dakota; she named the area where she settled after her home town. Belvidere, South Dakota still operates as a small town in Jackson County.
1967 tornado
On April 21, 1967, a devastating tornado struck Belvidere. Twenty-four people died as a result, many of them schoolchildren. The F4 tornado struck at the end of the school day of Belvidere High School, when many children, including those who attended area grade schools, were waiting outside the high school for school buses. Of the sixteen school buses outside the high school, twelve were overturned or thrown by the tornado. The tornado did $22 million in damage, demolished over 100 homes, and injured 500 people. In 2007 a statue was erected in front of Belvidere High School in memorial of the lives lost.
As of 2013, the Belvidere tornado was the sixth worst weather disaster to happen at an American school, and the deadliest since 1955.
2009 explosion
On December 7, 2009, an explosion occurred at an NDK America building, when a large pressure vessel ruptured during a crystal-growing process. Pieces of debris, some weighing several tons, were flung over a wide area. One piece struck an automotive supply building and injured an employee inside. Chesterfield, Indiana native Ronald Greenfield, a truck driver refueling at the nearby Belvidere Oasis truck stop, was struck and killed by a 7-foot support beam. The shockwave was felt over a wide area. No NDK employees were injured in the incident.
The Chemical Safety Board investigated the incident, issuing their final report in 2013. The CSB found that stress corrosion cracking had occurred, unnoticed, in one of the crystal-growing autoclaves, leading to the catastrophic failure. They also found that NDK management had been warned multiple times over the years that the dangerous levels of hot sodium hydroxide inside the vessels would corrode the steel walls. However, NDK management insisted buildup of byproducts from the crystal-growing process would passivate the vessel walls against the corrosion. Furthermore, during the factory's construction, the local government had been made aware that NDK's crystal-growing vessels were in violation of several state codes; when confronted, NDK had persuaded them to grant a special exception, and to hitherto allow them to conduct their own onsite inspections without outside interference. However, the vessel that ruptured had never been internally inspected to test the passivation theory, during its many years of service. After a smaller leak occurred in January 2007, NDK was warned about safety concerns again, this time by insurance investigators, who were ultimately ignored. Finally, the CSB determined the method for growing crystals used at NDK's Belvidere facility was prohibitively dangerous in the first place, pointing out such methods had been already abandoned by other crystal-growing facilities in favor of safer, lower-pressure and lower temperature processes.
Following their own 2010 investigation, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined NDK more than half a million dollars for willful disregard for legal requirements, and "unacceptable" indifference to safety and health. The NDK facility was demolished in 2015, with no plans to rebuild.
2023 tornado
On March 31, 2023, an EF1 tornado struck Belvidere. It caused the Apollo Theatre to collapse during a concert for the Floridian Death Metal band Morbid Angel and Brazilian Death Metal band Crypta. The concert proceeded despite advanced notice of severe conditions expected that day. The collapse led to over 40 injuries; leaving at least four in critical condition and one fatality.
Geography
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Belvidere has a total area of , of which (or 98.08%) is land and (or 1.92%) is water.
Located in north central Illinois, in a county on the northern border of the state, Belvidere is approximately northwest of the downtown of Chicago, and approximately east of Rockford.
Belvidere developed on both sides of the Kishwaukee River in north central Illinois. It is 76 miles from downtown Chicago via Routes 20, 76 and the Northern Illinois Toll road. Belvidere is an industrial community surrounded by prosperous farms. It is the county seat, with an estimated 2006 county population of over 52,000. The altitude is 800 feet above sea level, with average temperatures of: 73 degrees F in the summer; 24 degrees F in the winter, and the average rainfall is 33.3 inches, and the average annual snowfall is 35.3 inches.