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200+ Years of History
Founded in 1814, Belleville, Illinois, celebrated its 200th Anniversary during 2014. Thanks to George Blair and his donation of one acre of land on March 10, 1814 for a Public Square, the county seat of St. Clair County was moved from Cahokia to the more centrally located settlement. Mr. Blair was given the honor of naming the town and county seat, and on August 8, 1814, the court of St. Clair County recognized the name he had chosen which was Belleville; a French word meaning beautiful city.
Source: The Pioneer History of Illinois by John Reynolds
Prior to that, in July of 2013, the City Council had officially adopted a new logo that was designed by the Belleville 200 Committee to commemorate the City's 200th Anniversary.
Logo features include:
Colors from the Belleville flag; black, yellow, green and white
The year Belleville was founded; 1814
Founts of water; representing the impressive and historic Veterans Memorial Fountain in the city's Public Square
The post horn; symbolizing the heritage of the area's pioneers who were mostly German, and the Belleville Philharmonic Orchestra, the second oldest continuous performing orchestra in the nation.
The design for the flag, which was submitted by Frederick L. Lange of Belleville, features the following:
- a large field of black, symbolic of the area's rich soil basin,
- a bar of yellow, representing the city's mineral wealth,
- a green bar, signifying agricultural abundance,
- a white bar, representing Belleville's culture and plenty, and
- a white post horn, used by early European postal systems, notably in Germany, symbolic of the heritage of our area's pioneers and the Belleville Philharmonic Orchestra, the second oldest in the nation.
Belleville Historic Preservation Commission
The efforts of the Belleville Historic Preservation Commission help to enhance and perpetuate the city's historic neighborhoods and landmark buildings.