Biohazard Cleanup Near Edison Place Belleville, IL

Belleville was founded in 1814 when George Blair donated an acre of his farmland for a public square, and Blair chose the French name 'Belleville' - meaning 'beautiful city' - hoping it would attract settlers.

Belleville became the county seat of St. Clair County in 1814, replacing Cahokia, and St. Clair is the oldest county in Illinois.

Belleville was incorporated as a village in 1819 and as a city in 1850, making it one of the oldest cities in Illinois.

With 42,404 residents at the 2020 census, Belleville is the most populous city in Southern Illinois and in the Metro-East region of the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Belleville was the center of the first important German settlement in Illinois, and by 1870 an estimated 90% of its population was German-born or of German descent.

Belleville's educated German 'Latin Farmers' established one of the first kindergartens in the United States, along with choral societies, drama groups and literary societies.

The Belleville Public Library, helped into existence by German immigrant Gustav Koerner, is recognized as the oldest public library in Illinois.

After the Civil War, Belleville became a manufacturing powerhouse known as 'The Stove Capital of the World,' producing stoves, nails, printing presses and agricultural equipment, and the first brewery in Illinois was established there.

In 1868, Belleville confectioner Gustav Goelitz founded the candy company that eventually became Jelly Belly, maker of the famous jelly beans.

The Belleville Philharmonic is the second-oldest continuously performing orchestra in the United States, behind only the New York Philharmonic.