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Bellechester, Minnesota

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Bellechester City. It lies in ZIP code area 55956. The Survey maps it on the Mazeppa quadrangle. 176 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,112 feet above sea level.

Bellechester within Goodhue County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 11 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

2 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Bellechester between 2012 and 2013, burning about 4 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Equipment and vehicle use2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
24 September 2012Equipment and vehicle use1.5 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
28 April 2013Equipment and vehicle use2.5 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Goodhue County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Bellechester: 4 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Betcher QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Wabasha S & G PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Bellchester PitsClayPast Producer
Bellechester PitsClayPast Producer1875
Thomeorde PitsClayPast Producer
Thomforde PitsClayPast Producer1875

Every working recorded in Goodhue County

Storms near this place

7 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bellechester in 7 storm reports between 2012 and 2026: 3 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2016Thunderstorm WindBellechester$500,000The town of Bellechester was hit the hardest and sustained the most visible and impactful damage. Damage consisted of some structure damage including a barn/shed on County Road 16 just west of Bellechester. Debris was blown across County Road 16. There were also lots of trees on sheds and rooftops in this area as well. Some of the damage seemed to result from strong winds, however most damage to roofs, structures, and other property was caused from falling trees and other debris.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindBellechester-A large tree was blown onto a home in Bellechester.
June 2024Heavy RainBellechester-A total of 3 to 4 inches of rain fell from multiple rounds of thunderstorms. CoCoRaHS observers measured 4.06 inches near Dennison.
September 2018Tornado (EF0)Bellechester-This is the continuation of the Goodhue-Wabasha County tornado that tracked briefly into Wabasha County, before moving back into Goodhue County, and dissipated approximately 3/4 of a mile west of Bellechester. Areal footage of drone, satellite data and a storm survey, indicated EF0 damage in a corn field.
April 2026HailBellechester-no account filed
June 2012HailBellechester-no account filed
June 2012HailBellechester-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Goodhue County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Belvidere Mills5.8 miles11
Goodhue6.4 miles11
White Willow7.4 miles11
Claybank8.2 miles10
Forest Mills8.4 miles11
Hay Creek8.7 miles11
Zumbrota9.8 miles11
Ryan11.5 miles10

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on BellechesterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2232827The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 639895. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.