Bellwood, Nebraska
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Savannah Township. It lies in ZIP code area 68624. The Survey maps it on the David City West quadrangle. 407 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,444 feet above sea level.
On record in Bellwood
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
Clear Creek Bridgelisted 1992
Population over time
2 figuresBellwood fell from 435 to 407 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 435 | |
| 2020 | 407 | -28 (-6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 11 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1899 USGS David City quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS Fremont quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Fremont quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Fremont quadrangle1:250000
- 1968 USGS David City West quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS David City quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
14 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Bellwood between 2007 and 2019, burning about 34 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 use | 5 |
| Debris and open burning | 4 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2007 | Smoking | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 27 May 2018 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 17 May 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 27 April 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 23 April 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 13 April 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 5 March 2011 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
| 26 March 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Nebraska Forest Service | not named |
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Bellwood: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pb 3 Pit and Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
43 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bellwood in 43 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 20 hail, 16 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 2 flood. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2010 | Flash Flood | Bellwood | $10,000 | Rainfall of 2 inches or so in about an hour caused flash flooding across various county roads and portions of Highways 15 and 64 in northwest Butler county. The rain fell on saturated soils due to heavy rain that fell earlier in the week. Damage from this flooding consisted mainly of gravel washed off county roads and some crop damage. |
| May 2018 | Flood | Bellwood | $1,000 | Between 1 1/2 to 2 inches of heavy rain fell across northern Butler County.This caused water in a low lying area near the the Platte River to overflow across County Road 44 between County Roads E and F. |
| October 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | $1,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph blew some power lines down by Bellwood and blew the roof off of a garage. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | Law enforcement report of several trees uprooted and branches broken. Wind speed estimated at 60-65 mph along the outflow boundary of a thunderstorm. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | The Butler County Emergency Manager reported several center pivots overturned and multiple power poles snapped from the intersection of U.S. Highway 80 and State Highway 64 East towards Bellwood. A damage survey also found an empty grain bin that had been blown off its foundation and smashed against the side of a farm building. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Bellwood | - | Trained spotter reported 1 inch hail. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Bellwood | - | Public reported 1.75 inch hail. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | Utility Company reported large limbs down on power lines causing power outages. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | Large tree limbs and power lines down throughout Bellwood. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | An estimated 60 mph wind gust was reported near Bellwood. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | Law enforcement reported that trees and power poles were knocked down by the wind. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated at around 60 mph in the Bellwood area. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 70 mph broke power poles and did tree damage along the Platte River north of Bellwood. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Bellwood | - | Hail up to golf ball-size was accompanied by thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph. |
| June 2010 | Heavy Rain | Bellwood | - | Rainfall of a little over 3 inches was reported near town. |
| February 2007 | Flood | Bellwood | - | An ice jam on the Platte River caused some flooding around some cabins near the Brandeburgh Lakes area and closed a few county roads northwest of Bellwood for a while this day. After the jam broke downstream, the water went down fairly quickly. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | Thunderstorm winds did damage to the roof and south wall of a trailer house. |
| March 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Bellwood | - | A tornado was reported by emergency management and observed by the public west of Bellwood. The tornado did some roof and tree damage and destroyed a farm outbuilding west of Bellwood. This same Thunderstorm cell produced a brief tornado southeast of Richland a few minutes later. It could not be confirmed that the tornado remained on the ground from west of Bellwood to southeast of Richland, however. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | A trained spotter estimated thunderstorm winds gusted to 60 mph near town. |
| May 2005 | Hail | Bellwood | - | Accompanied by 40 to 50 mph winds. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 mph or more downed many trees in town. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | Emergency management estimated wind gusts from thunderstorms at around 60 mph north of Bellwood. |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 70 mph by fire and rescue squad in Bellwood. |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellwood | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at between 60 and 70 mph downed trees in the Bellwood area. |
| May 1999 | Hail | Bellwood | - | Covered highway 81 south of Platte River 6 inches deep. |
| June 1999 | Flash Flood | Bellwood | - | Flash flooding closed county roads between Bellwood and Linwood. |
| June 2018 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| May 2018 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| September 2003 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Funnel Cloud | Bellwood | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| David City | 8.5 miles | 11 | |
| Octavia | 9.5 miles | 11 | |
| Rising City | 10.4 miles | 11 | |
| Millerton | 10.9 miles | 11 | |
| Edholm | 11.1 miles | 11 | |
| Garrison | 12.0 miles | 11 | |
| Abie | 15.4 miles | 11 | |
| Bruno | 15.4 miles | 11 |
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 Bellwood | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1990298 | The 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 827308. 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.





