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 Trunk Railway
in 1855. Belleville's strikingly
beautiful Gothic city hall was
constructed in 1872. The City
Hall tower stands some 185 feet
above street level.
In 1998, the city was amalgamated with the surrounding Township of Thurlow to form an expanded City of Belleville as part of Ontario-wide municipal restructuring. The city also annexed portions of Quinte West to the west.