Belleville is a city in

St. Clair County, Illinois St. Clair County is the ninth most populous county in Illinois. Located directly east of St. Louis, the county is part of the Metro East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area in southern Illinois. As of the 2020 United States ...

, United States, and its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. It is a southeastern suburb of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. The population was 42,404 at the 2020 census, making it the most populated city in the

Metro East The Metro East is an urban area in Southern Illinois, United States that contains the eastern and northern urban, suburban, and exurban areas on the Mississippi River in Greater St. Louis. It encompasses eight Illinois counties and constitutes ...

region of

Greater St. Louis Greater St. Louis is the 23rd-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the largest in Missouri, and the second-largest in Illinois. Its core city—St. Louis, Missouri—sits in the geographic center of the metro area, ...

, and in all of

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

south of Springfield. Due to its proximity to

Scott Air Force Base Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. Originally Scott Field, it was one of 32 Air Service training camps established af ...

, the city has a significant population of military and federal civilian personnel. It is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville The Diocese of Belleville () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the Southern Illinois region of the United States. It is a suffragan see in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdioc ...

and home to the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows.

History

George Blair named the city of Belleville in 1814, after the French phrase ''belle ville'', meaning "beautiful city". Because Blair donated an acre of his land for the town square and an additional adjoining the square for the new county seat, the legislature transferred the county seat from the village of

Cahokia Cahokia Mounds ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from present-day St. Louis. The state archaeology park lies in south-western Illinois between East St. L ...

. The latter had been established by French colonists as a mission village in the late 17th century. Belleville was incorporated as a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in 1819, and became a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in 1850. Major immigration in the mid-19th century to this area occurred following revolutions in Germany, and most of the European-American population is of German ancestry. Many of the educated Germans fled their homeland after the failure of the

German Revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

in 1848. Belleville was the center of the first important German settlement in Illinois. By 1870, an estimated 90% of the city's population was either German-born or of German descent."Labor and Industry Museum"
''Labor and Industry Museum: Belleville History'', accessed December 1, 2010] After the Civil War, Belleville became a manufacturing center producing nails, printing presses, gray iron castings, agricultural equipment, and stoves. Belleville became known as "The Stove Capital of the World." The first brewery in Illinois was established in Belleville. In 1868, Gustav Goelitz founded the candy company that is known today as "

Jelly Belly Jelly Belly Candy Company, formerly known as Herman Goelitz Candy Company and Goelitz Confectionery Company, is an American company that manufactures Jelly Belly jelly beans and other candy. The company is based in Fairfield, California, with ...

." An immense deposit () of

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the coal seam, ...

was found in St. Clair County. By 1874, some farmers had become coal miners. One hundred shaft mines were in operation in and around Belleville. The coal brought the steam railroad to town, which allowed for the transport of many tons of coal to be shipped daily from Belleville to St. Louis on the west side of the Mississippi River, for use in its industries, homes and businesses. Later, Belleville had the first

electric trolley A current collector (often called a "pickup") is a device used in trolleybuses, trams, electric locomotives and EMUs to carry electric power ( current) from overhead lines, electric third rails, or ground-level power supplies to the electric ...

in the state. The first style of houses in Belleville were simple brick cottages, known locally as "German street houses" or " row houses." Architectural styles flourished in greater variety, featuring

American Foursquare The American Foursquare (also American Four Square or American 4 Square) is an American house vernacular under the Arts and Crafts style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass-produced elements of the ...

French Second Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

, Queen Anne, and

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

. The Belleville Historic District, which was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976, comprises 73 contributing properties. The "Old Belleville Historic District," was defined and recognized in 1974 and is the city's first historic district."Village Profile"
''Village Profile: History and Culture'', 1997, accessed 1 December 2010] The city also has designated two more historic districts: "Hexenbuckel" (est. in 1991) and "Oakland" (est. in 1995). Belleville's early German immigrants in the United States, German immigrants were educated, with most of them having graduated from German universities. They were nicknamed " Latin Farmers" because of this. After 1836 Gustav Koerner contributed to establish the city's public library. The Belleville Public Library is the state's oldest, predating the Illinois State Library by three years. The German settlers also founded choral and dramatic groups, as well as literary societies. They established one of the first kindergartens in the country here. In 1990, as reported by the Belleville News-Democrat using the US Census data, the city surpassed the neighboring city of East St. Louis to become the most populated city in the Metro East and Southern Illinois. The

National Civic League The National Civic League is an American nonpartisan, non-profit organization founded in 1894 as the "National Municipal League”; it adopted its new name in 1986. Its mission is to advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communit ...

recognized Belleville in 2011 as one of the ten recipients of the

All-America City Award The All-America City Award is a community recognition program in the United States given by the National Civic League. The award recognizes the work of communities in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create stron ...

. Belleville is coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. Major employers within the city limits include Protestant Memorial Medical Center (dba Memorial Hospital), Empire Comfort Systems, Peerless Premier Appliance, Allsup, Belleville Boot Company, Illinois American Water (corporate office, quality control and research laboratory), Permobil US, Roesch Inc., Beno J. Gundlach Co., Chelar Tool & Die,

International Paper The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 39,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. History The company was incorporated January 31 ...

, Triple Sticks Food Inc., Kaskaskia Engineering, and Mathis Marifian & Richter Ltd. In 2021, residents of the Illinois city elected Patty Gregory as Belleville's first female Mayor.

Geography

Belleville is located at (38.521567, −89.995208). According to the 2010 census, Belleville has a total area of , of which (or 98.83%) is land and (or 1.17%) is water. Richland Creek flows through much of Belleville.

Climate

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 41,410 people, 17,603 households, and 10,420 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 19,142 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 81.51% White, 15.51% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.63%. Of the 17,603 households 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.8% were non-families. 35.1% of households were one person and 14.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.95. The age distribution was 23.4% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males. The median household income was $35,979 and the median family income was $46,426. Males had a median income of $33,361 versus $25,375 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,990. About 9.3% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 Census, there were 44,478 people, 18,795 households, 11,081 families living in the city. The population density was. The racial makeup of the city was 69.8% White, 25.4% African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population Of the 18,795 households 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38% were married couples living together, 16.4 had a female householder with no man present, and 41% were non-families. 34.4% of households were one person and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age of older. The average household size was 2.3 and the average family size was 2.9. The age distribution was 23.3% under the age of 18, and 12.9% over the age of 65.

Arts and culture

The Belleville Philharmonic Society was formed in 1866, making it the second oldest philharmonic orchestra in the country. With the increase in the black population and migrants from the South, musicians developed who played

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

; later

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

clubs were added to the scene.

Jay Farrar Jay Stuart Farrar (born December 26, 1966) is an American songwriter and musician based in St. Louis. A member of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001. Beyond his talent as ...

(now of Son Volt), Mike Heidorn, and

Jeff Tweedy Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, singer songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, began his music care ...

(now of

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

) of the now-defunct alt country group

Uncle Tupelo Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend ...

are from Belleville. Another major musician was

Neal Doughty REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon), or simply REO, was an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success through ...

, keyboardist for 1970s rock band

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon), or simply REO, was an American Rock music, rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial suc ...

National Register of Historic Places

* Belleville Historic District * Gustave Koerner House * Knobeloch-Seibert Farm

Sports

* Rowdies Rugby Football Club – the only

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

club in the Belleville area. * Lindenwood Stadium is a

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

stadium with alternating red and gray stripes. It has been called "The nation's most original (hideous) football field." * Belleville was home to the Belleville Stags (1947–1949), who were a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team. The Stags were charter members of the Illinois State League and remained when the league changed names to the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League in 1949, eventually becoming today's

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

in 1956. The Stags played at the Belleville Athletic Field and were named and supported by their namesake, Stag Beer. The Stags were an affiliate of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

(1949) and

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

(1947–1948).

Education

Belleville Township High School District 201 is the public high school district.
Text list
/ref> Within Belleville are four high schools; namely, the public Belleville High School-East and Belleville High School-West (of the high school district), and the private Althoff Catholic High School (of the

), and Governor French Academy. In addition, small portions of the city are within these districts: East St. Louis School District 189 (which operates East St. Louis Senior High School), Mascoutah Community Unit School District 19 (which operates Mascoutah Community High School), and Freeburg Community High School District 77 (which operates Freeburg Community High School). Belleville is also home to numerous grade school districts, including Belleville School District 118, Belle Valley School District 119, Harmony Emge School District 175, Signal Hill School District 181, Whiteside School District 115, and Freeburg Community Consolidated School District 70. Parochial grade schools include St. Teresa Catholic, Blessed Sacrament Catholic, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic, and Zion Lutheran School. The Catholic schools belong to the diocese. Higher education in Belleville includes

Southwestern Illinois College Southwestern Illinois College is a public community college in Illinois with campuses in Belleville, Granite City, and Red Bud. It also has off-campus sites throughout the district, including Scott Air Force Base and the East St. Louis Comm ...

, a public community college with its main campus adjacent to the city limits in unincorporated St. Clair Township. The city was formerly home to Lindenwood University – Belleville from 2009 to 2020.

Media

The ''

Belleville News-Democrat The ''Belleville News-Democrat'' is a daily newspaper in Belleville, Illinois. Focusing on news that is local to the area of southwestern Illinois, it has been published under various names for 150 years. it is published by The McClatchy Compa ...

'', is the city's daily newspaper. ''The News-Democrat'' is part of the McClatchy chain and covers the Metro East region and Southwestern Illinois. The city is also served by the ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...

'', the area's major metropolitan daily. Belleville receives the signals of most radio and TV stations based in St. Louis.

Transportation

Belleville has three St. Louis MetroLink stations connecting it to St. Louis and the network via

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

: Memorial Hospital, Belleville, and

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

. Illinois State Highways 15, 158, 159,

177 Year 177 ( CLXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Commodus and Plautius (or, less frequently, year 930 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 177 for thi ...

, 13 and

161 Year 161 ( CLXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Aurelius (or, less frequently, year 914 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 161 for this ye ...

all pass through Belleville. Belleville is also adjacent to Interstate highways 64 and 255. I-64 is an east–west highway extending from

Wentzville, Missouri Wentzville is an exurb of St. Louis that is located in western St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a total population of 47,497, making it the 15th largest city in Missouri. Went ...

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

and is the major route from Belleville to downtown St. Louis. I-255 is part of a system of expressways that together form a loop around St. Louis. Belleville has a bicycle trail that runs through the city from Southside Park to

and

; it is mainly used for recreational purposes. Belleville's area airports are

and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, which is served by

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air is an American ultra low-cost carrier, ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The airline focuses on serving leisure traffic from small and medium-sized cities which it considers to be underserved, using an ult ...

. The nearest major airport with regularly scheduled commercial passenger service is

St. Louis Lambert International Airport St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the primary international airport serving metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Commonly referred to as Lambert Field or simply Lambert, it is the largest and busiest airport in the st ...

Healthcare

Bethany Place in Belleville provides services for those with

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

Notable people

Ninian Edwards Ninian Edwards (March 17, 1775July 20, 1833) was an American political figure who was prominent in Illinois. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to until the territory earned statehood in 1818. He was then ...

(1775–1833), 3rd

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its we ...

* John Reynolds (1788–1865), 4th

* William Henry Bissell (1811–1860), 11th

* Black Beaver (1806–1880),

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

leader, scout, and rancher * Charles Romyn Dake, 19th-century American homeopathic physician and writer *

Lea DeLaria Lea DeLaria (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actress, and jazz singer. She portrayed List of Orange Is the New Black characters#Carrie "Big Boo" Black, Carrie "Big Boo" Black on the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black'' ...

, American comedian, actress, and jazz singer *

Buddy Ebsen Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr.; April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS television sitcom ''The Beverly Hillb ...

, American actor and dancer *

, American songwriter and musician * Logan Brasfield, Illinois State Men’s Rugby Vice President * Mary Lynne Gasaway Hill, poet, writer, professor at St. Mary's University, Texas and Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

Bob Goalby Robert George Goalby (March 14, 1929 – January 19, 2022) was an American professional golfer. He won the Masters Tournament in 1968, after Roberto De Vicenzo notably made an error on his scorecard. It was Goalby's lone major championship am ...

, Professional golfer, winner of the 1968 Masters Tournament * Nicholas Holthaus, American writer, documentarian, musician and media producer *

Sandra Magnus Sandra Hall Magnus (born October 30, 1964) is an American engineer and a former NASA astronaut. She flew to space three times, as mission specialist on STS-112, as ISS crewmember during Expedition 18 and as mission specialist on STS-135. She is al ...

, American engineer and a former NASA astronaut *

Darius Miles Darius LaVar Miles (born October 9, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. The , forward was selected directly out of high school by the Los Angeles Clippers with the third overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft. He was a Fi ...

, former American professional basketball player * James T. Mitchell (1834–1915), chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania * Edward P. Petri, Illinois state representative, sheriff, and businessman * Mary Ellen Richmond, constructed the foundations for the scientific methodology development of professional social work, notable as the "mother of social casework" *

, musician, songwriter, author, and record producer *

Kevin Von Erich Kevin Ross Adkisson (born May 15, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kevin Von Erich. A member of the Von Erich family, Adkisson is best known for his appearances with Fritz Von Erich, his father' ...

, an American retired professional wrestler * Stephen R. Wigginton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois from 2010 to 2015. *

Jimmy Connors James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 2 ...

, American former world No. 1 tennis player * Ken Bone, internet personality

Sister city

Belleville has one

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

: *

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

, GermanyBelleville Sister Cities, Inc
is the organization which fosters the relationship between the two cities.

References

External links

*
The Belleville Historical Society
* {{Authority control Cities in Illinois County seats in Illinois German-American history Populated places established in 1814 Cities in St. Clair County, Illinois 1814 establishments in Illinois Territory