Belleville, Illinois
| Belleville | |
| City | |
 Welcome fountain coming into the city.
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Illinois |
| County | St. Clair |
| Township | Belleville |
| Elevation | 515 ft (157 m) |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 19.0 sq mi (49 km²) |
| - land | 18.9 sq mi (49 km²) |
| - water | 0.1 sq mi (0 km²) |
| Population | 41,410 (2000) |
| Density | 2,196.4 / sq mi (848 / km²) |
| Founded | 1814 |
| Mayor | Mark W. Eckert |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 62220-62223, 62225, 62226, 62269 |
| Area code | 618 |
 Location of Belleville within Illinois
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| Wikimedia Commons: Belleville, Illinois | |
| Website: http://www.belleville.net/ | |
Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "Beautiful city") is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 41,410 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of St. Clair County,[1] and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. Belleville, located within Southern Illinois, is included in the Metro-East region of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area.
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History
George Blair named the city of Belleville in 1814. Blair was born in 1760. Blair's family was of Scottish ancestry; his father was born in Scotland. Blair donated an acre of his land for the Town Square and an additional 25 acres (100,000 m2) that adjoined the Square for the new County Seat, thereby replacing the old county seat in Cahokia, Illinois. Belleville was incorporated as a village in 1819, and became a city in 1850. Although the name "Belleville" is French for "Beautiful City", most of the population is of a German heritage. It is said that Blair named the city Belleville because he believed that the sophistication of a French name would attract new residents. After the failure of the German Revolution in the 1840s, many of the educated fled their homeland. Belleville was the center of the first important German settlement in the State of Illinois. At this time, an estimated 90% of the city's population was either German born or of German descent.
In 1903 a black teacher, David Wyatt, was lynched by a mob of 5,000 people in the town square, set on fire and dismembered. He was accused of the murder of Charles Hertel, the white superintendent of St. Clair County schools, in Hertel’s office when he refused to renew Wyatt’s teaching certification because of “grievous” complaints. [2] [3]
Belleville received worldwide media coverage for a videotaped attack in which two black males assaulted a white male over a seating dispute on a Belleville West High School bus. The white male did not fight back as he was assaulted twice. Several minutes passed between the first and second attacks.[2]
Geography
Belleville is situated above the river bluffs of the Mississippi River. The West End of Belleville merges with East St. Louis just below this bluff, which is widely regarded as a boundary between the two cities. Downtown Belleville itself is also situated on a small hill. The surrounding area is relatively flat.
Topography
Belleville is located at (38.521567, -89.995208).[3].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.0 square miles (49.2 km²), of which, 18.9 square miles (48.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (0.68%) is water. Richland Creek flows through much of Belleville
Culture and contemporary life
Entertainment and performing arts
Jay Farrar (now of Son Volt), Mike Heidorn, and Jeff Tweedy (now of Wilco) of the now-defunct alt country group Uncle Tupelo are from Belleville along with Neal Doughty, keyboardist for 70s classic rock band REO Speedwagon. The City's downtown is also home to blues, jazz, and rock clubs. Belleville Philharmonic Society was formed in 1866, making it the second oldest philharmonic orchestra in the country.[4]
National Register of Historic Places
- Belleville Historic District
- Gustave Koerner House
- Knobeloch-Seibert Farm
Annual events
Belleville holds several celebrations throughout the year. One of the newest, but most successful, is Art on the Square (the annual art fair).
- St Patrick's Day Parade (March 17)
- Art on the Square (5/16/08–5/18/08) — Art on the Square was recently named the #1 Art Fair in the Nation by Art Fair Source Book.
- Ainad Shriner's Circus Parade (1st Friday in June)
- Wine Dine and Jazz (June)
- Oktoberfest (September)
- Labor Day Parade (September)
- Chili Cookoff (October)
- Santa Claus Parade (November)
- Gingerbread Walk (December)
Attractions
- Eckert’s Country Store and Farms - Eckert's, the largest family-owned pick-your-own orchard in the U.S., started as a simple roadside stand in 1910. Today, the 6th and 7th generations of the Eckert family operates retail, entertainment and farming entities in Belleville, Millstadt and Grafton, Illinois.
- Labor & Industry Museum - from the museum website: The Labor & Industry Museum is devoted to the history of the labor and industry of Belleville and southwestern Illinois. Belleville was one of the most significant centers for the growth of Illinois industry, which ranked third in the nation in the late 19th century. The Museum's mission is to chronicle and interpret the area's rich cultural heritage of labor and industry.
- Our Lady of the Snows, National Shrine
- Ravissant Winery (recently shut down—future unknown)
- Sky-View Drive-In - One of the few remaining drive-in's in the St Louis metro area.
Sports
- Rowdies Rugby Football Club — the only rugby football club in the Belleville area.
Demographics
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 41,410 people, 17,603 households, and 10,420 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,196.4 people per square mile (848.2/km²). There were 19,142 housing units at an average density of 1,015.3/sq mi (392.1/km²). 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 population.
There were 17,603 households out of which 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 all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the city the population was spread out with 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% who were 65 years of age 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 income for a household in the city was $35,979, and the median income for a family 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, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Higher Education
- Saint Louis University Belleville Campus
- Lindenwood University-Belleville [4]
- Southwestern Illinois College
Four high schools — two public (Belleville Township HS East, Belleville Township HS West), and two private (Althoff Catholic HS, Governor French Academy).
Belleville is also home to a relatively large grade school district. Belleville District 118 has 9 elementary schools, (Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Douglas, Franklin, Jefferson, Union, Westhaven, Henry Raab, and Washington) and 2 junior high schools (Central Junior High and West Junior High). Belle Valley School District 119 includes North Elementary School and South Middle School. Harmony School District 175 includes Ellis Elementary and Emge Jr. High. Signal Hill School is the only school in district 181. Whiteside Elementary School and Whiteside Middle School make up district 115. Parochial grade schools include St. Peter's Cathedral, St. Augustine of Canterbury Church, St. Teresa, Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady Queen of Peace, and Zion Lutheran School.
The Belleville school system attracted national attention after the 2009 beating of a seventeen year old student at the hands of two younger students who were all three riding on a bus together. The victim, who was white, was beaten by two black students after apparently moving a book bag to sit down on a crowded bus. The two attackers were expelled for a year and a half and charged with felony assault.[5]
Infrastructure
Transportation
Belleville is home to 3 St. Louis MetroLink stations - Memorial Hospital, Belleville, and College.
Belleville is also conveniently situated along IL highway 15, 159, 177, 13 and 161, and not too far from I-255 and I-64. This makes it an easy drive to the bustling downtown St. Louis, or out to rural areas for weekend camping trips.
Belleville also has a bicycle trail that runs through the city from Southside Park to Southwestern Illinois College, but it is mainly used for recreational purposes
Belleville's area airports are Scott Air Force Base and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport. MidAmerica Airport, located only minutes away from the heart of Belleville, should be a convenient alternative to St. Louis Lambert International for long distance travel, but it currently has no scheduled air service.
Sister city
Belleville is a sister city to Paderborn, Germany.[6]
Notable people
- Jenny Bindon, goalkeeper for the New Zealand Women's Football Team at the 2007 Women's World Cup and 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
- Dave Butz, former NFL player with the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Redskins, 2x Super Bowl champion.
- Jimmy Connors, Professional tennis player.
- Jerry Costello, current 10 time seating U.S. Congressman, Chairman on the Aviation subcomitee.
- Brian Daubach, Major-League Baseball player.
- Buddy Ebsen, actor, known for TV roles as Jed Clampett (The Beverly Hillbillies) and Barnaby Jones.
- Jay Farrar, front man of rock group Son Volt, formed Uncle Tupelo with Jeff Tweedy, and a successful solo artist.
- Max Flack, Major League Baseball player.
- Bob Goalby, former professional golfer, 1968 Masters champion.
- Bob Groom, deadball era major-league pitcher.
- Habeeb Khan, New York playwright.
- Gustav Körner, German politician and emigrant, participant of the Frankfurter Wachensturm in 1833.
- Ken Kwapis, Emmy-nominated director and producer for The Office.
- K-Run's Park Me In First aka "Uno", A dog, winner of the 2008 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
- Gary Leonard, NBA basketball player.
- Sandra Magnus, engineer and NASA astronaut.
- Darius Miles, NBA basketball player.
- Peter Sarsgaard, actor, father was stationed at Scott AFB.[7]
- Al Smith, pitcher for the NY Giants, Phillies, and the Cleveland Indians. Helped NY win the pennant in 1936 and 1937.
- Lorenda Starfelt, motion picture producer.
- Harry Statham, college basketball coach with most career wins.
- Jeff Tweedy, frontman of rock group Wilco.
- Kevin Von Erich, former Professional Wrestler
- Randy Wells, current Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.
References
- ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ Belleville Philharmonic Society Symphony Orchestra
- ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ Belleville Sister Cities, Inc is the organization which fosters the relationship between the two cities.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765597/bio
External links
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