the book to inform the people South Beloit of their roots. Natural history What is now South Beloit was previously full of natural resources such as copper, lead, and bog iron. Buff and blue limestones were plentiful everywhere in Winnebago County, with limestone forming the banks of the Rock River and Turtle Creek. The buff limestone gave the first settlers material for their houses and public buildings, some of which can still be seen in Rockford, Rockton, and Beloit/South Beloit. The older homes in South Beloit had basement walls of this limestone. The South Beloit area has a thick deposit of sand, and industries were built here because of its unusually fine quality. A fine quality of clay was also found in the state line area. Earliest residents Many Peoples have inhabited South Beloit over the years, including the Mound Builders, Sioux, and Illinswek (Illinois). The Turtle Indians of the area were the Winnebago Tribe, Siouan family. They had villages all along the Rock River and Turtle Creek. One large village was in modern-day South Beloit and all the way up to northeast Beloit. It was named for an important chief, Kau Rau Maw Nee (Walking Turtle). Turtle later became modern day Beloit and South Beloit. Beloit divided In 1818, Congress told the people of the Territory of Illinois to form a Constitution and adopt a state government. A heated debate arose over the correct placement of the northern state line of Illinois. Most people in the lead region and the northern part of the territory did not want to be part of the state because of a large debt and tax for internal improvements. The northern part was against slavery and wanted a Lake Michigan shoreline. If the old line of 1787 were kept, Illinois would be much smaller than Wisconsin and Chicago would be in Wisconsin because Illinois would have no Lake Michigan shoreline. Getting fed up with everything, Nathaniel Pope, who represented Illinois, went ahead and proposed the bill to congress. His bill proposed cutting 8,500sq. miles off of Wisconsin and adding it to Illinois. Thus the current state line was created. A farming community Illinois had become a state in 1818, Winnebago County was organized in January 1836, and public surveys started in the fall of 1836. Government sale of lands started in 1837–39, but Rockton Township sale was held until 1843 because of claims made