Belleville’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Belleville. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Originally known as "Second River" or "Washington", the inhabitants renamed the settlement "Belleville" in 1797. Belleville was originally incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 8, 1839, from portions of Bloomfield. Portions of the township were taken to create Woodside Township (March 24, 1869, now defunct) and Franklin Township (February 18, 1874, now known as Nutley). The independent municipality of Belleville city was created within the township on March 27, 1874, and was dissolved on February 22, 1876. On November 16, 1910, Belleville was reincorporated as a town, based on the results of a referendum held eight days earlier.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Belleville’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Belleville’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewHillside Pleasure Park, c. 1905: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Belleville
See all 35 →
Belleville, decade by decade
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Hillside Pleasure Park (c. 1905) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.