Bellfountain, Oregon

The former general store in Bellfountain, Oregon

Bellfountain is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Benton County, Oregon, United States. Bellfountain lies on Bellfountain Road north of Alpine and northwest of Monroe. The population was 75 at the 2010 census.^[1]

Early history

Early on, the area around Bellfountain was known as Belknap's Settlement. A post office was established in 1895 called Dusty. From 1902 to 1905 the Bellfountain post office existed; after that the mail went to Monroe. Bellfountain was said to have been named for Bellefontaine, Ohio.

Bellfountain has also been said to have been named for the bell fountain, a natural spring that bubbled up about 1 mile west of Bellfountain where the Bellfountain Park is located. Flat rocks surrounding the natural artesian spring formed in the shape of a bell. People could view the bell fountain until sometime during the last 40 years when Benton County covered over the bell fountain with a cement building and a pump house to pump the water for use in the park. People are no longer able to view the bell fountain for which some people believe the town was named.

State Champion School

In 1937 the basketball team at Bellfountain High School won the Oregon state championship. At this time Kenneth Litchfield was principal and Burton "Bill" Lemmon was the coach. That was an era when all schools, large and small, were grouped together for playoff purposes. Bellfountain H.S. had a total of twenty-seven students, and their basketball team consisted of eight boys, none over 6 feet tall. After taking the Class B Championship they beat Portland's Franklin High School (a school of 2100 students) in the semi-finals, then competed in the finals against Portland's Lincoln High School. The Bells beat Lincoln by 14 points - their closest game of the season.

Present-day Bellfountain

The local economy is centered around the farming of Christmas trees and grass seed, and on logging. Bellfountain Park features an 85-foot-long (26 m) picnic table.

References

• The Bellfountain Giant Killers: The Story of a Small Oregon High School and its Miraculous Championship Season by Joe R. Blakely. Bear Creek Press, 2003. Paperback, $9.95.

External links

• Oregon Hoop History
• Benton County Place Names
• Eugene Weekly
• Eugene Register-Guard
• Bellfountain - Our Town

Municipalities and communities of Benton County, Oregon, United States County seat: Corvallis Cities Adair Village Albany‡ Corvallis Monroe Philomath CDPs Alpine Alsea Bellfountain Blodgett Kings Valley Summit Other unincorporated communities Alder Dawson Flynn Glenbrook Greenberry Harris Hoskins Lewisburg Noon Wren Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Coordinates: 44°21′49″N 123°21′19″W / 44.36361°N 123.35528°W / 44.36361; -123.35528