Belmont's county-seat story was not settled in one vote

Belmont reads better when you know it had to grow into its name. The village history says the place was laid out in 1833 as Philipsburg, in honor of Philip Church. It incorporated in 1853 as Philipsville, while the east side of the Genesee River was called Miltonville. In 1870, a hotel referendum gave the joined village the name Belmont, from the French word meaning beautiful hills.

The county-seat part was not tidy either. The Erie Railroad came through the Genesee valley in 1849 and 1850, and Belmont grew quickly. By 1857, there was a push to move the Allegany County seat from Angelica to a more central place closer to the railroad depot. Belmont became county seat in 1859, but court sessions alternated between Angelica and Belmont until 1892.

That little fight gives Belmont more personality than a simple county-office label. It is a river village, a railroad village, and a courthouse village, all at once. A person heading to 7 Court Street is also walking into an old argument about geography, access, and where a county should meet itself.