Community Newspaper Special Sections Essex Community Guide 2016 | Page 8

Belleville History

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ettled by the Dutch in the 1630s,
Belleville was originally known as
Second River before it was
renamed Belleville — French for
“Beautiful City” — in the 1790s.
A noteworthy residence in Belleville’s
earlier days was the Van Cortlandt-Van
Rensellear mansion, which was built in
1683. The mansion was rumored to have
escape tunnels in its basement, for use
during raids by Native Americans.
As a result of a dam built by Jasper
Crane, a lake known as Silver Lake was
formed in 1730, where St. Anthony’s
Church now stands. It measured 300 feet
wide and one half-mile long. The lake
existed for more than 150 years, until a
storm in 1889 destroyed Crane’s dam and
caused the lake to drain.
In 1776, during the Revolutionary War,
Gen. George Washington and his troops
passed through the Second River colony,
with the British in pursuit. Sixty-two veterans of that war are subsequently buried in
the cemetery behind the old Dutch
Reformed Church on Main Street now
known as La Senda Antigua. The buildings, where a church steeple was damaged
during Superstorm Sandy in October
2012, also house the remains of a number
of 19th century Chinese immigrants.
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Essex Community Guide | 2016

The first documented school in town
was erected in 1792, and was located on
the property of the Dutch Reformed
Church. The school, which was secularized in 1829, served the community until
1852. It was then knocked down to make
room for a new church building. To
replace it, the “Academy” was opened in
1853. That four-room school was later
enlarged and re-named “School 1.” The
School No. 1 property that stood for more
than a century at the confluence of
Cortlandt, Academy, Rutgers and Stephens
streets, was torn down in late 2013.
Belleville was officially incorporated as
a township on April 8, 1839, with a population of 500. According to the 2010 U.S.
Census, Belleville’s population today is
roughly 35,926. A new age-restricted housing complex of 137 residential units,
Franklin Manor, is completing construction
on Mill Street. The former Garden State
Cancer Center on Franklin Avenue is also
undergoing residential rehabilitation, while
the Belleville Municipal Stadium located
behind Belleville High School had received
a host of upgrades in the last decade. ◆
Sources: The Township of Belleville
Master Plan, Belleville Education
Foundation, and Belleville historian
Norman Price via secondriver.blogspot.com.

DEBORAH ANN TRIPOLDI

Led by commander and parade organizer Bill Steimel, second from right, Belleville-Nutley
Disabled American Veterans gather after the Annual Belleville/Nutley Veterans Day Parade.