One of Beloit’s first distinguished families, and the first to make a substantial investment in Caleb Blodgett’s new community, was the Goodhue’s.

Once a member of the Canadian Parliament, Charles Frederick Henry Goodhue was instrumental to early developments in the fledgling community. He moved to Beloit with his family in 1837 after his son George purchased a large portion of Blodgett’s “three looks.”

The Goodhue’s were speculators and had holdings in Watertown, Rockford, northern Wisconsin, and as far away as St. Louis. The Goodhue’s investment capital became important in what was to become Beloit as they constructed the area’s first saw mill, flour mill, and distillery. Charles sons carried on the business after he died in 1855, and one son, William, became Beloit’s first mayor in 1856.