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Belleville, Ontario

Belleville (2006 population 48,821, metropolitan population 91,518) 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 current mayor of Belleville is Neil Ellis.

History

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. In 1858 the iron bridge over the Moira at Bridge Street became the first iron bridge in Hastings County. 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.

Geography and climate

Belleville is located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in southeastern Ontario between the cities of Quinte West to the west and Napanee to the east. These cities are connected by both Ontario's Highway 2 and the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway (Highway 401); The city is also served by Highway 37, running north-south from Belleville towards Tweed to the east of the Moira River; and Highway 62 (once Highway 14 south of 401), northwards towards Madoc, and southward to Prince Edward County over the Bay Bridge.

Belleville is located in a transitional zone which may be considered part of the Central Ontario or Eastern Ontario regions by different sources. By the official definition of these regions, however, Belleville is more properly considered part of the Central Ontario region as it is located west of the St. Lawrence River's starting point.

Distance statistics

192km (119 miles) from Toronto, ON.
221km (137 miles) from Ottawa, ON.
356km (221 miles) from Montreal, QC.

Climate

Belleville's climate has four distinctive seasons. The summer season has comfortable temperatures and modest rainfall. The winter season is not exceedingly cold and the average snowfall is lower than in many other parts of Canada and north-east United States. The City's traditional continental climate (hot summers, cold winters) is moderated somewhat by its location near the Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario. The lakes moderates temperature extremes, cooling hot summer days and warming cold days during the fall and winter.

Mean Daily Temperature - Annually =
Mean Maximum Highest Temp. - Summer =
Mean Minimum Lowest Temp. - Winter =
Growing Degree-Days = 2239
Growing Season = 190-200 days
Mean Annual Precipitation = 85 cm (33.5 in)
Mean Annual Snow Fall = 151 cm (59.5 in)
Average Number of Days with Precipitation = 141 days
Average Number of Days with Snowfall = 42 days
Average Number of Days with max. temperature > 0°C (32°F)= 304 days

Economy

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.

Many other companies in the manufacturing sector formerly operated plants in Belleville, including Mead Johnson, Westwood-Squibb and Union Carbide. Prior to the Nortel downturn there was a large workforce of skilled workers at two of its plants, formerly known as Northern Telecom and prior to that, Northern Electric. Federal Signal remains one of Belleville's largest employers manufacturing Air Raid and Tornado Sirens for the North American and Western European market.

Demographics

The City of Belleville, with the amalgamation of the Township of Thurlow, and the annexation of a portion of the City of Quinte West, has a population of approximately 46,000 people. Belleville is the largest urban centre in a much larger market area generally known as the Quinte Region. The Quinte Region extends approximately 25 miles in all directions from Belleville's City centre, and has an estimated population of approximately 173,000 people.

Belleville's population is projected to increase by 7,500 people by 2021 to approximately 54,000 inhabitants, a growth rate of roughly .7% per year. However, two trends may result in a growth rate up to twice the above rate. The two trends include:

expansion of smaller urban communities within easy traveling distance to large metropolitan urban centres.
expansion of Belleville as the regional employment and service centre for the Quinte Region and areas.

Population statistics

Population: 48,821
Population Within Of City Centre: 172,625
Population Density Within 25 Mile Radius Of City Centre:
Average Population Per Dwelling Within 25 Mile Radius Of City Centre: 2.61

Education

Belleville is part of two School Boards:

Public

Hastings & Prince Edward District School Board,

High schools

Elementary schools

Special schools

Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf.
William R Kirk School for developmentally disabled, multiple disabilities, and special education.

Separate

Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board, the Roman Catholic, provincially funded "separate" board,

High schools

Elementary schools

Private schools

Albert College, A private boarding school
Quinte Ballet School of Canada, One of the larger ballet schools in Canada.
Quinte Christian High School which opened in 1977 and moved into new facilities in September 2006.
Belleville Christian School, Grades J-K, S-K, 1-8.
Kidzstep Vocational Prepatory School, Grades 7-12

Post-secondary

Loyalist College is the local community college.

There is currently a grassroots effort underway to bring a university to the Quinte region. http://quinteuniversity.com, with a view to making the region more attractive to business, and keeping well-educated people in the region.

Sports teams

Belleville is home to the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. They play at the Yardmen Arena, located on Cannifton Road. Belleville was previously home to two senior hockey teams, the Belleville Macs and the Belleville McFarlands. The McFarlands won the Allan Cup in 1958, and the World Championship in 1959.

Media

Print

Belleville Intelligencer - daily newspaper

Radio

AM 800 - CJBQ ("800 AM") country music
FM 91.3 - CJLX ("91X") Loyalist College campus radio
FM 95.5 - CJOJ ("Classic Hits 95.5"), classic hits
FM 97.1 - CIGL ("Mix 97"), hot adult contemporary, top 40
FM 100.1 - CHCQ ("Cool 100"), country music
FM 102.3 - CKJJ, ("UCB") Christian music
FM 103.5 - MIXITUPFM ("MixItUpFM.Com") [The top music of the year]
See also List of radio stations in Ontario.

Television

Channel 15: CBLFT-TV-13 - SRC
Channel 53: CICO-TV-53 - TVOntario

See also List of television stations in Ontario.

Sister cities

Lahr, Germany - Established in 1971
Kunpo, South Korea - Established in 1996
Zhucheng, People's Republic of China - Established in 1996

Notable residents

Lee Aaron, Metal singer, now a Jazz singer, born in Belleville
Sir MacKenzie Bowell, Canada's fifth Prime Minister
Matt Cooke, hockey player
Bob Crawford, hockey player
Lou Crawford, former OHL and AHL head coach
Marc Crawford, former NHL head coach
Bobby Hull, Hockey Hall of Fame member
Brett Hull, son of Bobby, 2006 Inductee into Hockey Hall of Fame
Dennis Hull, Bobby's younger brother, member of 1972 Team Canada
Avril Lavigne, singer, born in Belleville, raised in nearby Napanee
Susanna Moodie moved to Belleville with her husband in 1840, after several years spent "roughing it in the bush"
Riyo Mori, Miss Universe 2007 spent her teenage years in Belleville, studying at Centennial Secondary School and at Quinte Ballet School of Canada
Farley Mowat, author, born in Belleville, resides in Port Hope
Pete Quaife, bassist for The Kinks in the 1960s, lived in Qunite Region from 1980 to 2005
Andrew Raycroft, hockey player
Brad Richardson, hockey player
Mike Schad, National Football League offensive lineman who attended Moira Secondary School and played for Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams
Jason Tam, Asian-American Civil Rights Attorney and author of "Stereotypes of an Asian Man"
John Weldon, animated movies director, Oscar Award winner (1979)
The Wilkinsons, country music group