Editing South Beloit, Illinois (section)

===Natural history===

What is now South Beloit was previously full of natural resources such as [[copper]], [[lead]], and [[bog iron]]. Buff and blue [[limestone]]s were plentiful everywhere in [[Winnebago County, Illinois|Winnebago County]], with limestone forming the banks of the [[Rock River (Mississippi River)|Rock River]] and [[Turtle Creek (Wisconsin)|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, Illinois|Rockford]], [[Rockton, Illinois|Rockton]], and Beloit/South Beloit. The older homes in South Beloit had {{convert|18|-|20|in|mm|adj=mid|-thick}} 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.