BELOIT - HOW IT ALL STARTED
In 1855 there were two paper mills in Blodgett's settlement. : The Rock River Paper Mill on the east side of the Rock River and the Strawboard Company located on the west side of the dam.
Until the year 1857, Beloit was known as Blodgett's settlement.
The year is now 1858.
President James Buchanan received greetings from Queen Victoria via the first transatlantic cable.
There is a "second gold rush"! This time it’s Pike’s Peak.
Rules for the new game called baseball are formalized. Brooklyn and the New York All Stars provide a demonstration.
Japan is opened to unrestricted commerce with England, France, Russia and the United States.
A young girl reports seeing the Virgin at Lourds, France.
Richard Esterbrook introduces the steel pen point.
Minnesota becomes the 32nd state.
Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas holds a series of seven debates with a political newcomer, Abraham Lincoln. The debates underscore the growing differences between the North and South.
The city of Beloit is twenty two years old and well on its way to becoming a thriving agricultural and manufacturing center.
Orson Merrill arrives in Beloit to establish a foundry at 637 Third Street named 0. E. Merrill Company. It is the beginning of Beloit Corporation!
Within a year, he is joined by a Partner, George Houston. The company becomes Merrill and Houston Iron Works. Their principal product is a patented water—powered turbine developed by Houston.
Sereno T. Merrill, Orson’s brother, owner of Rock River Paper Mill Company, located on the side of Rock River, persuades his brother to supply rebuild parts for his mill’s papermaking machines.
Other mills in the area, there were a number of them,  in those pre-civil war years  heard of Merrill and Houston’s expertise and bought parts for their machines.
By 1867 Merrill and Houston were able to supply complete papermaking machines. They built four in that first year and several each year thereafter. (click picture on left to 
Over the next twenty years, Merrill and Houston gained a firm regional reputation for the manufacture of superior papermaking equipment.
Finally, difficulties encountered during the financial panic of 1873 forced the company into receivership. On January 7, 1885, the assets of the company were sold at auction to J. D. Schuster of Janesville, Wisconsin.
In July of 1885, four former employees of Merrill and Houston form a new company.
The name of the company is BELOIT IRON WORKS.