Moving - Bellaire, Pennsylvania

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In the meantime, enjoy a brief history of Bellaaire, PA.

In the meantime, enjoy a brief history of Bellaaire, PA.

A Brief History of Bel;laire, PA

Before the Ice Age the Ohio River flowed north-eastward but the ice dammed up the water so a new channel was cut to the south-west. Erosion created the "shelf" of which much of Bellaire stands and at one time Noble Street above Forty-first passed through a gravel bank giving that area the nickname, "The Cut." The railroad had excavated the cut but later abandoned it.

Eventually Mound Builders occupied this area but evidence of them have disappeared from within the city limits. This is also largely true of the Indians themselves although a grave was found near Thirty-Sixth and Belmont Streets. Probably there was no Indian village within the present city boundaries but Mingoes, Shawnees and Delawares (to a lesser extent) were known to have frequented the area. The Mingoes were especially savage but the Indian threat was removed by 1795 at the time of General Wayne's Greenville Treaty.

Bellaire was established as a village later than many other towns in Belmont County but let us follow the story to see how she did get going and for many years became the leading city in the county.

John Duer bought the central area of Bellaire from the Steubenville land office in 1792 but being more interested in making a speculator's profit soon sold it to John Buchannan (July 3, 1795) who in turn left it to his three sons. The son whose part lay south of Indian Run sold his part to John Rodefer and the others sold their shares to Jacob Davis who then lived for many years in a log cabin near the mouth of the creek. In 1834 he realized that he had a desirable site for a village so he had six acres of building lot sites surveyed above the present Twenty-seventh Street west to present Belmont. He named it Bell Air after his former home in Maryland. His lots were gradually sold and for twenty years the village grew as any other might. The mining and shipping of coal by John Fink was important from 1830. Jacob Heatherington, of "The House that Jack Built" fame became the outstanding coal operator later. The first church services were held in a cooper shop and the first church building, a Methodist, was erected in 1839 near Twenty-Seventh and Union Streets. Nearby an 18' by 18' school building was built in the same year and Jacob Davis, Jr. was a teacher. Two years later, a post office was established. Before this, mail had been delivered to Pultney, now Avondale, the early county seat.

Bellaire's first big boost for growth came with the building of the Central Ohio Railway (Now Baltimore & Ohio) and Col. John Sullivan should receive the credit for bringing it to Bellaire which became the eastern terminus. Goods unloaded at the foot of the Thirty-third Street and the area was expanded to the north to accommodate the Cleveland and Pittsburgh (later Pennsylvania and now Penn Central Railroad.) One track ran along the south side of the present First Methodist Church and the City Park. The U.S. Dry Cleaning building was originally a railway depot. A round house and cattle pens were located near what is now Central Avenue. Ferry boats carried the goods to south Wheeling where they were shipped on the B & O eastward. One can imagine the chaos at times when hogs and other animals got into broken sacks of grain, or literally upset people as they ran into them! The demand for a government to curb rowdyism and control drunkenness led to incorporation on May 5, 1860.

Before the Ice Age the Ohio River flowed north-eastward but the ice dammed up the water so a new channel was cut to the south-west. Erosion created the "shelf" of which much of Bellaire stands and at one time Noble Street above Forty-first passed through a gravel bank giving that area the nickname, "The Cut." The railroad had excavated the cut but later abandoned it.

Eventually Mound Builders occupied this area but evidence of them have disappeared from within the city limits. This is also largely true of the Indians themselves although a grave was found near Thirty-Sixth and Belmont Streets. Probably there was no Indian village within the present city boundaries but Mingoes, Shawnees and Delawares (to a lesser extent) were known to have frequented the area. The Mingoes were especially savage but the Indian threat was removed by 1795 at the time of General Wayne's Greenville Treaty.

Bellaire was established as a village later than many other towns in Belmont County but let us follow the story to see how she did get going and for many years became the leading city in the county.

John Duer bought the central area of Bellaire from the Steubenville land office in 1792 but being more interested in making a speculator's profit soon sold it to John Buchannan (July 3, 1795) who in turn left it to his three sons. The son whose part lay south of Indian Run sold his part to John Rodefer and the others sold their shares to Jacob Davis who then lived for many years in a log cabin near the mouth of the creek. In 1834 he realized that he had a desirable site for a village so he had six acres of building lot sites surveyed above the present Twenty-seventh Street west to present Belmont. He named it Bell Air after his former home in Maryland. His lots were gradually sold and for twenty years the village grew as any other might. The mining and shipping of coal by John Fink was important from 1830. Jacob Heatherington, of "The House that Jack Built" fame became the outstanding coal operator later. The first church services were held in a cooper shop and the first church building, a Methodist, was erected in 1839 near Twenty-Seventh and Union Streets. Nearby an 18' by 18' school building was built in the same year and Jacob Davis, Jr. was a teacher. Two years later, a post office was established. Before this, mail had been delivered to Pultney, now Avondale, the early county seat.

Bellaire's first big boost for growth came with the building of the Central Ohio Railway (Now Baltimore & Ohio) and Col. John Sullivan should receive the credit for bringing it to Bellaire which became the eastern terminus. Goods unloaded at the foot of the Thirty-third Street and the area was expanded to the north to accommodate the Cleveland and Pittsburgh (later Pennsylvania and now Penn Central Railroad.) One track ran along the south side of the present First Methodist Church and the City Park. The U.S. Dry Cleaning building was originally a railway depot. A round house and cattle pens were located near what is now Central Avenue. Ferry boats carried the goods to south Wheeling where they were shipped on the B & O eastward. One can imagine the chaos at times when hogs and other animals got into broken sacks of grain, or literally upset people as they ran into them! The demand for a government to curb rowdyism and control drunkenness led to incorporation on May 5, 1860.