Belleville, Illinois

Belleville (French: Belle ville, meaning "Beautiful city") is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city has a population of 44,478. It is the eighth-most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area and the most populated city south of Springfield in the state of Illinois. It is the county seat of St. Clair County, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. Belleville is the most populated city in the Metro-East region of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area and in Southern Illinois.

History
George Blair named the city of Belleville in 1814. Blair was born in 1760 and his father was born in Scotland. Blair donated an acre of his land for the Town Square and an additional 25 acre that adjoined the Square for the new County Seat, causing the county seat to be transferred from the village of Cahokia. Belleville was incorporated as a village in 1819, and became a city in 1850. It is said that Blair named the city Belleville (French for beautiful city) because he believed that a French name would attract new residents. Since major immigration in the mid-19th century following revolutions in Germany, most of the population is of German heritage.

After the failure of the German Revolution in 1848, many of the educated people fled their homeland. 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.

After the Civil War, Belleville became a manufacturing center; nails, printing presses, gray iron castings, stoves, agricultural equipment, and stoves were made there. The number of stoves produced and wealth generated from the stove foundry industry gave Belleville the moniker, "Stove Capital of the World." The State of Illinois’ first and last brewery was established there also. Belleville was also Southern Illinois’ leading cigar revenue district. In 1868, Gustav Goelitz founded the company that is known today as "Jelly Belly." An immense deposit (400,000 acres) of bituminous coal 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. Later, Belleville would have the first electric trolley in the state.

The first style of homes in Belleville was simple brick cottages, known locally as "German street houses" or "row houses." However, there is a great variety of architectural style with American Foursquare, French Second Empire, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, and Victorian. Over 700 properties are listed on the Belleville National Register Historic District. The "Old Belleville Historic District," was formed in 1974 and is the city’s first historic district. The city also had two more historic districts: "Hexenbukel" (est. in 1991) and "Oakland" (est. in 1995).

Belleville’s early German immigrants were scholarly, with most of them having graduated from German universities. They were nicknamed “Latin Farmers” because of this. In 1836, residents established 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. Belleville was also home to one of the first kindergartens in the country.

In October 2010, KEZK radio host Delilah sponsored a "paint the town" project. A local Home Depot donated paint, and volunteers supplied the labor to paint murals and buildings along several blocks of the main street of Belleville.

Topography
Belleville is located at 38.52167°N, -89.99528°W (38.521567, -89.995208)..

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.

Entertainment and performing arts
The Belleville Philharmonic Society was formed in 1866, making it the second oldest philharmonic orchestra in the country. With the increase in black population and migrants from the South, musicians developed who played blues and jazz; later rock clubs were added to the scene.

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. Another major musician was Neal Doughty, keyboardist for 1970s classic rock band REO Speedwagon.

During the summer of 2011, the Belleville West Jazz Band under the direction of Dr. Thomas Birkner completed a cultural exchange to Germany. The trip included concerts at Belleville's sister cit Paderborn, Millstadt's sister city Gross-Beiberau, Rittersberg, and Keiserslautern.

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. This festival was recently named the "#1 Art Fair in the Nation" by the Art Fair Source Book.
 * Ainad Shriner's Circus Parade (1st Friday in June)
 * Wine Dine and Jazz (June)
 * Labor Day Parade (September)
 * Oktoberfest (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., first opened a roadside sales stand in 1910. The 6th and 7th generations of the Eckert family operate retail, entertainment and farming entities in Belleville, Millstadt and Grafton, Illinois.
 * Labor & Industry Museum- 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 interprets the area's rich cultural heritage.
 * Our Lady of the Snows, National Shrine
 * * Sky-View Drive-In - One of the few remaining drive-ins in the St. Louis metro area, which is expanding to add a third screen.
 * Downtown Belleville - Historic downtown Belleville has been recently renovated, and is a great place to shop.

Sports

 * Rowdies Rugby Football Club — the only rugby football club in the Belleville area.
 * Belleville Khoury League - Belleville is home to the oldest, continually operating Khoury League in the nation. This organization facilitates youth tee ball, baseball, and softball programs to local area youth.

Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 44,478 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 per square mile (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
 * 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.

Transportation
Belleville has three St. Louis MetroLink stations connecting it to St. Louis and the network: Memorial Hospital, Belleville, and College.

Belleville is also conveniently situated along IL highway 15, 159, 177, 13 and 161, and close to 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 has a bicycle trail that runs through the city from Southside Park to Southwestern Illinois College; 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, has no scheduled passenger air service, however Lambert St. Louis International Airport is just 30-45 minutes away.

Sister city
Belleville is a sister city to Paderborn, Germany.

Notable people

 * Jenny Bindon, goalkeeper for the New Zealand Women's Soccer 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.
 * John Williams, dev ops, 37signals.
 * Jeff Tweedy, frontman of rock group Wilco.
 * 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.
 * Jaimee Foxworth, Actress Family Matters Parent was stationed at Scott AFB
 * Bob Goalby, former professional golfer, 1968 Masters champion.
 * Bob Groom, deadball era major-league pitcher.
 * Jay Haas, Professional Golfer.
 * Ernest Hilgard, psychologist.
 * Gustav Körner, German politician and emigrant, participant of the Frankfurter Wachensturm in 1833.
 * Ken Kwapis, Emmy-nominated director and producer for The Office.
 * Gary Leonard, NBA basketball player.
 * Al Levine, MLB pitcher.
 * Sandra Magnus, engineer and NASA astronaut.
 * Darius Miles, NBA basketball player.
 * Peter Sarsgaard, actor, born at Scott AFB, where his father was stationed.
 * 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.
 * Kevin Von Erich, former Professional Wrestler
 * Randy Wells, current Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.
 * Uno, winner of the 2008 Westminster Kennel Club
 * Bob Heil, Inventor of The Heil Talk Box, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame exhibitor

Popular media
Belleville (under the name "Bellevue") is the town where Dirk Peters, companion of Arthur Gordon Pym, is discovered living in the novel A Strange Discovery by Charles Romyn Dake, published in 1899. This novel is a sequel to the only novel written by Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.