128 Business View - June 2015
The city now known as Belton, Mo., sprang from an
80-acre land purchase made by George W. Scott and
William H. Colbern from one Manzey Q. Ashby in 1869.
It was incorporated in 1872 and named for one of
Scott’s closest friends – Marcus Lindsey Belt – with
whom he had served in the Civil War.
Many of its initial settlers moved west from Kentucky,
and, most recently, its population ticked upward by 6.3
percent between the 2000 and 2010 federal census
counts – growing from 21,730 to 23,116 persons.
According to Jeff Fisher, the city’s Public Works Direc-
tor, the people living in Belton now still maintain a tan-
gible level of reverence for its history.
“It is a caring community that is very engaged in char-
ity and celebration of its military history and special
moments in history,” he said. “There is a former Air
Force base very close that still has a few remnants of
active military units. But community perception of the
city is not unlike it is in other areas, I think. There are
some that are very supportive and some that are fairly
skeptical. However, the expectations for local govern-
ment are reasonable and probably realistic, really. The
identity depends on who you speak with but certainly
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