BlockBefore
Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Belmont, Ohio

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1962. It stands in Goshen Township. It lies in ZIP code area 43718. The Survey maps it on the Bethesda quadrangle. 414 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,191 feet above sea level.

Belmont within Belmont County

Population over time

2 figures

Belmont fell from 453 to 414 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. 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.

YearPeople Change
2010453
2020414-39 (-9%)

Then and now

1903 to 1962

The same ground, surveyed 59 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Belmont, surveyed 1962
Topographic sheet of Belmont, surveyed 1903

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 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.

In the county-history sources

5,147 words on this township

Centennial History of Belmont County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens., published 1903 names this settlement in its chapter on Goshen Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Belmont or Wrightstown was laid out by Jose])h Wright in 1808. The name Wrightstown ought to have been perpetuated in honor of the enterprising' and intelligent Irish gentleman who first settled there. Mr. Wright was the first school teacher and taught in the old. round-log school house for years. He was

Passage source: Centennial History of Belmont County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens., published 1903.

The first log-cabin school house was built in 1807. The second was a hewed-log house, date not given. The third was a frame structure in 1836. The fourth, a brick structure in 1861, and the last a three-room brick house in 1875.

Passage source: Centennial History of Belmont County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens., published 1903.

The present superintendent is J. W. Jeffries, with Tompkins Dillon and Miss L. Griffith as assistants. The enrollment is 168 and the school house is too small to accommodate the increasing numbers. The members of the School Board are: Elmer Kinney, president;

Passage source: Centennial History of Belmont County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens., published 1903.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Goshen Township - it names this place 10 more 10 times.

Photographs

8 photographs,

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

4363 Guernsey Street (House), Bellaire, Belmont County, OH
4363 Guernsey Street (House), Bellaire, Belmont County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
4715 Guernsey Street (House), 4715 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Belmont County, OH
4715 Guernsey Street (House), 4715 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Belmont County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Willis Kelly House, 4735 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Belmont County, OH
Willis Kelly House, 4735 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Belmont County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Bridge on Old National Road, Blaine, Belmont County, OH
Bridge on Old National Road, Blaine, Belmont County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
4815 Guernsey Street (House), Bellaire, Belmont County, OH
4815 Guernsey Street (House), Bellaire, Belmont County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Bridge & Milestone, Blaine, Belmont County, OH
Bridge & Milestone, Blaine, Belmont County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
4825 Guernsey Street (house), Bellaire, Belmont County, OH
4825 Guernsey Street (house), Bellaire, Belmont County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress
Arch Culvert, Saint Clairsville, Belmont County, OH
Arch Culvert, Saint Clairsville, Belmont County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

Fires near this place

9 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Belmont between 2002 and 2017, burning about 55 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
Debris and open burning5
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Other causes1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
7 September 2002Equipment and vehicle use15 acresOhio State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
4 May 2013Debris and open burningunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 March 2003Debris and open burningunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
23 March 2017Other causesunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resources7568
15 March 2014Debris and open burning2.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 March 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined21 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
14 March 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
11 March 2014Debris and open burning15 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Belmont County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 229 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 229 specimens collected within 10 miles of Belmont between 1877 and 1975: 188 Animalia, 30 Plantae, 10 Fungi, 1 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. Goff, Buker, W.E., Buker, W.E.; Henry, L.K. and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Medicago lupulina L.Medicago lupulina L.1961Robert Gray; Charles O. Wingo Jr.1 mile west of Hendrysburg.
Specimen of Dennstaedtia punctilobula (Michx.) T.MooreDennstaedtia punctilobula (Michx.) T.Moore1971Cusick, A.W.disturbed beech woods; St. Rt. 26, just S., Co. Rt. 92, Sect 21, Goshen Twp.
A photograph of the species Hamamelis virginiana, not of this specimenHamamelis virginiana L.1877Guttenberg, G.St. Clairsville Rd
A photograph of the species Fragaria americana, not of this specimenFragaria americana (Porter) Britton1878Guttenberg, G.St. Clairsville
A photograph of the species Fragaria virginiana, not of this specimenFragaria virginiana Mill.1878Guttenberg, G.St. Clairsville
A photograph of the species Rubus odoratus, not of this specimenRubus odoratus L.1878Guttenberg, G.S of Clairsville
A photograph of the species Dumetella carolinensis, not of this specimenDumetella carolinensis (Linnaeus, 1766)1884Jones, J. (Jesse)Belmont, Ohio, USA
A photograph of the species Hylocichla mustelina, not of this specimenHylocichla mustelina (Gmelin, 1789)1885Jones, J. (Jesse)West Wheeling, Belmont, Ohio, USA
A photograph of the species Quiscalus quiscula, not of this specimenQuiscalus quiscula versicolor Vieillot, 18191885Jones, J. (Jesse)Martin's Ferry, Belmont, Ohio, USA
A photograph of the species Turdus migratorius, not of this specimenTurdus migratorius Linnaeus, 17661885Jones, J. (Jesse)Martin's Ferry, Belmont, Ohio, USA
A photograph of the species Tyrannus tyrannus, not of this specimenTyrannus tyrannus (Linnaeus, 1758)1885Jones, J.Martin's Ferry, Belmont, Ohio, USA
A photograph of the species Zenaida macroura, not of this specimenZenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758)1885Jones, J. (Jesse)Martin's Ferry, Belmont, Ohio, USA

All 229 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Storms near this place

15 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Belmont in 15 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 9 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
October 2011FloodBelmont$15,000Emergency management reported Route 149 flooded near Barkcamp State Park.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindBelmont$10,000Multiple trees were blown down on to State Route 147.
August 1997Thunderstorm WindBelmont$10,000Thunderstorm winds fell a tree onto a mobile home.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindBelmont$5,000Law enforcement reported trees down on Chestnut level Road.
May 2002Thunderstorm WindBelmont$5,000Thunderstorm wind downed several large trees and power lines.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindBelmont$3,000Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindBelmont$2,000A tree was blown down on West Main Street.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindBelmont$2,000Numerous large trees and power lines were downed by thunderstorm winds in and between Bethesda and Belmont.
December 2013Thunderstorm WindBelmont$1,000Local law enforcement reported trees down around the county. In addition, a trampoline was launched.
May 2019HailBelmont-A local 911 call center reported hail 1 inch in size.
July 2006Flash FloodBelmont-At 935 PM EDT, water began spilling over Epworth Park Dam. People trapping in camper in Bethesda. By 1020 PM EDT, secondary creeks emptying into McMahon Creek were flooding, starting 1 mile southeast of Belmont. Water covering SR 149 near Barkcamp State Park in Goshen Twp. McMahon Creek was bankful on SR 149 in Warnock after 2.75 inches of rain.
February 2004Flash FloodBelmont-Ice jam caused flooding on Route 148 between Powhatan Pt and Captina. Route 149 flooded again near Belmont at Cleves Crossing.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindBelmont-Large tree branches blown down.
May 2025HailBelmont-no account filed
June 2000HailBelmont-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Belmont 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
Loomis1.6 miles12
Bethesda2.0 miles12
Badgertown2.3 miles12
Lamira2.7 miles17
Morristown3.0 miles12
Lloydsville3.6 miles17
Great Western4.2 miles17
Speidel4.4 miles12

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 BelmontAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2224633The 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 1064410. 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.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

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.