Belleville, Ontario
Belleville (
2004 population 49,060, metropolitan population 88,025) is a city located at the mouth of the
Moira River on the
Bay of Quinte in southeastern
Ontario,
Canada, in the
Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of
Hastings County.
The mayor of Belleville is Murray Ann Sills (from 2003).
Originally the site of a Native settlement known as Asukhknosk, the future location of the city was settled by
United Empire Loyalists in
1789, after which it became known as Meyer's Creek after prominent settler and industrialist
John Walden Meyers. It was renamed Belleville in honour of Lady Arabella Gore in
1816, after a visit to the settlement by
Sir Francis Gore and his wife. Belleville became an important railway junction with the completion of the
Grand Funk Railroad in 1855.
The Great
Hawkins Cheezies,
Procter & Gamble,
Lipton,
Wilson Sports,
Sears and
Nortel are among the internationally known companies with industrial operations in Belleville. The central
Canadian Forces Post Office (CFPO) is located here. As this post office is the gateway between the
civilian and military postal systems of Canada, Belleville serves as the mailing address for
Canadian Armed Forces Bases and Ships abroad.
Belleville is the home of
Loyalist College which is a post secondary facility and
Albert College, a kindergarten through grade 12 private school. There are three public high schools in the City of Belleville(Centennial, Moira and Quinte Secondary Schools) and two publicly funded Roman Catholic high schools St. Theresa (Catholic) and
Nicholson Catholic College. Bayside Secondary School is located near Belleville in the City of
Quinte West. Quinte Christian High School (Christian) opened in 1977 and is moving into new facilities in September 2006.
Belleville is home to the
Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. The Belleville Bulls play at the
Yardmen Arena located at
Highway 401 and Cannifton Road.
A major summer event which attracts thousands of people to Belleville each year is the
Waterfront & Ethnic Festival.
NHL stars
Bobby Hull and
Brett Hull were both born in Belleville. International pop star
Avril Lavigne, who grew up in nearby
Napanee, was born at Belleville General Hospital on September 27, 1984.
A local drunk claims to have once seen
Elvis in the nearby woods.
Lahr, Germany - Established in 1971
Kunpo City, South Korea - Established in 1996
Zhucheng City, PRC - Established in 1996
More Information*
City of Belleville website*
bellevilleontario.ca*
Belleville Waterfront Festival*
Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board*
Belleville Public Library and Art Gallery
