Belleville, Illinois

Belleville 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,Template:GR and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. Belleville is also the home of the newspaper, the prestigious Belleville News-Democrat. Belleville is in the Metro-East region of the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. Belleville's sister city is Paderborn, Germany. It is commonly said that Belleville has the longest Main Street in the world, stretching for 13 miles.

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 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. 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.

Geography

Topography

Belleville is located at 38°31′18″N 89°59′43″W (38.521567, -89.995208).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 49.2 km² (19.0 mi²). 48.8 km² (18.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.68%) is water.

Culture and contemporary life

Entertainment and performing arts

File:Belleville, IL Lincoln Theater.jpg

Lincoln Theater

Jay Farrar, 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 70's 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.Belleville is also home to the Immediacy Theatre Project (ITP), a not-for-profit theatre company. ITP is dedicated to finding and exploring new, eclectic forms of theatre through immediacy.

National Register of Historic Places

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

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 41,410 people, 17,603 households, and 10,420 families residing in the city. The population density was 848.2/km² (2,196.4/mi²). There were 19,142 housing units at an average density of 392.1/km² (1,015.3/mi²). 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.

File:Belleville Township StClair.PNG

Belleville Township

Education

Higher Education - Saint Louis University Belleville Campus, Lindenwood University Belleville Campus, and Southwestern Illinois College

Four high schools - 2 public (Belleville Township HS East, Belleville Township HS West), and 2 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 Cathedral, The Academy at St. Mary's Parish, St. Augustine of Canterbury, St. Teresa, Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady Queen of Peace, and Zion Lutheran School. Other schools include Mamie O. Stookey and Montessori School.

Infrastructure

Transportation

MetroLink Light Rail

Belleville is home to 3 St. Louis Metrolink Stations - Memorial Hospital, Belleville, and College.

The St. Louis/Mid-America Airport is located in Belleville.

Famous Residents

Jimmy Connors - 5-time US Open tennis champion
Buddy Ebsen - Actor; famous for TV roles as Jed Clampett (The Beverly Hillbillies) and Barnaby Jones.
Darius Miles - NBA Basketball Player
Lars Vardaman - 3 time ACUI 9-Ball Champion

External links

• www.belleville.net
• Belleville, Illinois - A Pictorial History and Tribute
• The Belleville News Democrat Online