On petition of citizens of St. Marys and Wamego Townships Sept. 4, 1871 the Board (County Commissioners) organized a new township out of parts of St.Marys and Wamego Townships. The new township was called “Belvue Township”.
On March 14, 1871 the village of Belvue had been laid out by Andrew J. Baker and Malcolm Gregory, but their plat was not recorded until May 1, 1871. That same day they deeded to the Belvue Township Company the southeast 40 acres of the land they had purchased from the Santa Fe.
There is some dispute as to where the name “Belvue” orgininated. Legend has it the town was named for the daughter of Louis Vieux, but there is no evidence that he had a daughter by this name. The same legend says that Belvue’s namesake was buried in the old Belvue cemetery southeast of the city, but since this cemetery is no longer in existence, there is no way to check this out.
Another source source says that “Belvue” simply is a French word meaning “beautiful view”. Although no one knows for certain where the name origintaed, Mrs. Andrew J. Baker is credited with giving the name to the town.