Local events in Bellville
13 events in the next 90 days from 2 public calendars. All local events in Bellville
Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
How Bellville began
Bellville grew up around a settlement James McCluer and Jonathan Oldfield made in 1808, reached by a path a tornado had cut through the woods from present-day Fredericktown. McCluer sold his land in 1815 to Robert Bell, who came from New Jersey, and Bell platted the town and gave it his name. The village incorporated in 1841 and grew as a mill and market town on Clear Fork Creek; an 1879 bandstand still stands at its center. Today it is a small Richland County village along the B&O Bike Trail, promoted locally as a gateway to the Mohican area.
Settled 1808, platted 1815, incorporated 1841, by Robert Bell (platted the town on land bought from first settler James McCluer).
Where the name comes from
The settlement was first called the 'McCluer settlement' for James McCluer, who entered the land in 1808. McCluer sold the land in 1815 to Robert Bell, who platted the village and named it Bellville for himself.
Before the town
No Native American sites, villages, trails, or treaty details specific to the village of Bellville itself were found in the sources consulted; the 1903 county history and Wikipedia article on Bellville make no mention of Native people at this location. Bellville and nearly all of Richland County lay within land ceded by the Treaty of Fort Industry (1805); only a small southeastern corner of the county lies south of the 1795 Greenville Treaty line, and Wyandot, Delaware (Lenape), and other nations used the region before removal. A disputed, unexcavated earthwork sometimes called the 'Lafferty mound' has been reported near Bellville in some local sources but could not be independently confirmed here and is treated with caution.
Timeline
- — James McCluer and Jonathan Oldfield make the first settlement at the site, arriving via a path cut by a tornado from what is now Fredericktown.
- — McCluer brings his family to the settlement in spring, generally dated as the true start of settlement.
- — Robert Bell buys McCluer's land and begins laying out the village of Bellville, naming it for himself.
- — First school in the settlement begins in McCluer's cabin, initially for boys only.
- — A post office is established at Bellville on January 22, with Isaac Hoy as postmaster.
- — The village's first church building, a Methodist Episcopal church, is constructed (though services had been held locally since 1814).
- — Bellville is incorporated as a village.
- — Bellville's first newspaper, the Rainbow and Repository, begins publishing.
- — Dr. James C. Lee discovers gold on Dead Man's Run near Bellville, briefly drawing prospectors to pan the creek.
- — Bellville's town hall is built.
- — The Bellville bandstand is built in the village center, where it still stands.
Stories
Gold on Dead Man's Run
In 1853, Dr. James C. Lee found traces of gold while working along Dead Man's Run, a small stream near Bellville. Word spread through the county, and for a time local men and a few outside prospectors panned the creek gravel looking for more. The quantities recovered were small and the excitement did not last, but the episode became one of the best-remembered stories in the village's early history, retold in Richland County's local histories as the county's own brief gold rush. No mining operation ever developed from it, and the stream returned to being an ordinary tributary of Clear Fork Creek.
From the McCluer settlement to Bell's town
James McCluer was the first man to put a cabin on the ground that became Bellville, arriving in 1808 by a path a recent tornado had opened through the forest from the Fredericktown area. He and Jonathan Oldfield built the settlement's first cabin, and for years afterward it was known locally as the McCluer settlement. But McCluer did not stay the town's namesake: in 1815 he sold his holdings to Robert Bell, who came from New Jersey. Bell surveyed and platted forty-eight lots between Main and Huron streets and named the result Bellville. The switch from a settler's name to a proprietor's name was common across frontier Ohio, but Bellville's origin story kept both men in its telling.
Photographs
Photo: User:OHWiki, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: User:OHWiki, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · richlandcountyhistory.com · richland.ohgenweb.org · en.wikipedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org
Historic places
5 places in Bellville on the National Register of Historic Places. Press a pin or a name for its whole record.
-
All Souls Unitarian-Universalist ChurchBuilding · Bellville · listed 1976
- Address
- 125 Church St.
- Where
- Bellville, Richland County · ZIP 44813
- What it is
- Building
- Listed on the National Register
- 1976
- NRIS reference number
- 76001520
- Coordinates
- 40.61985, -82.51230
National Register file (NPS) ↗ Search Wikipedia ↗ Street map and directions ↗ On the Cracked Buckeye map
-
Bellville BandstandStructure · Bellville · listed 1973
- Address
- North Bellville Municipal Park
- Where
- Bellville, Richland County · ZIP 44813
- What it is
- Structure
- Listed on the National Register
- 1973
- NRIS reference number
- 73001519
- Coordinates
- 40.62027, -82.50794
National Register file (NPS) ↗ Search Wikipedia ↗ Street map and directions ↗ On the Cracked Buckeye map
-
Bellville Cemetery ChapelBuilding · Bellville · listed 2010
- Address
- Bellville Cemetery, SR 97
- Where
- Bellville, Richland County · ZIP 44813
- What it is
- Building
- Listed on the National Register
- 2010
- NRIS reference number
- 10000457
- Coordinates
- 40.62035, -82.51874
National Register file (NPS) ↗ Search Wikipedia ↗ Street map and directions ↗ On the Cracked Buckeye map
-
Bellville Village HallBuilding · Bellville · listed 1976
- Address
- Park Pl. and Church St.
- Where
- Bellville, Richland County · ZIP 44813
- What it is
- Building
- Listed on the National Register
- 1976
- NRIS reference number
- 76001521
- Coordinates
- 40.61977, -82.51194
National Register file (NPS) ↗ Search Wikipedia ↗ Street map and directions ↗ On the Cracked Buckeye map
-
Gurney-Kochheiser HouseBuilding · Bellville · listed 1976
- Address
- 174 Main St.
- Where
- Bellville, Richland County · ZIP 44813
- What it is
- Building
- Listed on the National Register
- 1976
- NRIS reference number
- 76001522
- Coordinates
- 40.61914, -82.51146
National Register file (NPS) ↗ Search Wikipedia ↗ Street map and directions ↗ On the Cracked Buckeye map
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places point file. The listing year is shown where NPS's certification date agrees with the listing's reference number. Listing recognizes significance; it does not restrict a private owner.
Water
Mostly private wells The water here
- Bellville Village88% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Clearfork MHP12% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
Hospitals, fire stations and more
Inside Bellville's boundary: 1 fire or EMS station, 1 public school, 1 library, 1 museum, 1 police station, 2 public charging sites and 5 spill cases. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.
Fire and EMS stations (1)
-
Bellville Jefferson Township Fire DepartmentBellville
- Address
- 470 Main Street, Bellville, OH 44813
- Coordinates
- 40.60984, -82.51336
USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: USGS National Map structures (most Ohio records last updated 2019 to 2022), checked against the Columbus and Cleveland station lists. The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction and mutual aid, not by distance.
Public schools (1)
-
Bellville Elementary School4 of 5 stars · Bellville
- Address
- 195 School St, Bellville, OH 44813
- School district
- Clear Fork Valley Local School District
- Kind (NCES)
- Regular School
- Students, 2023-24
- 420
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 23.55
- Report card, 2025-26
- 4 of 5 stars
- Performance index
- 88.9%
- Ohio building IRN
- 002279
- NCES school ID
- 390494103580
NCES school record ↗ Ohio School Report Card ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: NCES EDGE public school locations 2024-25 and Common Core of Data 2023-24 (type, students, teachers); Ohio School Report Cards 2025-26 (Department of Education and Workforce), matched by name within the district.
Public libraries (1)
-
Bellville Branch LibraryBranch · Bellville
- Address
- 97 Bell St., Bellville, OH 44813
- What it is
- Branch
- Library system
- Mansfield-Richland County Public Library
- Open
- 2,964 hours a year, 52 weeks
- Building
- 5,028 sq ft
- System's visits, FY2024
- 514,540
- System's loans, FY2024
- 1,567,119
- People the system serves
- 99,110
- Phone
- (419) 886-3811
IMLS Public Libraries Survey (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: IMLS Public Libraries Survey FY2024 (outlets and their systems). Any Ohio resident can get a free card at any Ohio public library.
Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)
-
Bellville-Jefferson Township Historical SocietyHistorical society · Bellville
- What it is
- Historical society
- City
- Bellville
- Coordinates
- 40.61881, -82.51243
Search Wikipedia ↗ IMLS Museum Data Files (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
The museum list is IMLS's 2018 file; a museum may have closed or moved since.
Source: IMLS Museum Data Files, 2018.
Police stations (1)
-
Bellville Police DepartmentBellville
- Address
- 320 Bell Street, Bellville, OH 44813
- Coordinates
- 40.61462, -82.51270
USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: USGS National Map structures, police stations, corrected and completed by hand (September 2026). The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction, not by distance.
Public EV charging (2)
-
MICKEY MART #21 LEFT CHARGER DC fast1 DC fast · Bellville
- Address
- 750 State Route 97 W, Bellville, OH 44813
- Ports
- 1 DC fast
- Plugs
- CCS
- Network
- ChargePoint Network
- Hours
- 24 hours daily
- Phone
- 888-758-4389
Station Locator (NREL) ↗ Alternative Fuels Data Center (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
MICKEY MART #21 RIGHT CHARGER DC fast1 DC fast · Bellville
- Address
- 750 OH-97, Bellville, OH 44813
- Ports
- 1 DC fast
- Plugs
- CCS, CHAdeMO
- Network
- ChargePoint Network
- Hours
- 24 hours daily
- Phone
- 888-758-4389
Station Locator (NREL) ↗ Alternative Fuels Data Center (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: NREL Alternative Fuels Data Center station list (May 2026), public and open stations, the posts at one address counted as one site.
Spills reported since 2021 (5)
-
Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc2025-11-19 · Bellville
- Reported
- 2025-11-19
- What spilled
- Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc
- Largest amount reported
- 5 gallons
- Where
- Bellville, Richland County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2511EPA0001886
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Gasoline ( 25% Ethanol Not E85)2025-11-06 · Bellville
- Reported
- 2025-11-06
- What spilled
- Fuel Gasoline ( 25% Ethanol Not E85)
- Where
- Bellville, Richland County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2511EPA0001808
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2024-09-26 · Bellville
- Reported
- 2024-09-26
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Largest amount reported
- 100 gallons
- Where
- Bellville, Richland County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2409EPA0001650
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2024-09-24 · Bellville
- Reported
- 2024-09-24
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Largest amount reported
- 80 gallons
- Where
- Bellville, Richland County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2409EPA0001635
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2021-09-16 · Bellville
- Reported
- 2021-09-16
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Largest amount reported
- 30 gallons
- Where
- Bellville, Richland County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2109EPA0001466
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: Ohio EPA emergency response spill reports, 2021 to September 2026, one point per case where Ohio EPA placed it. A report is what the caller or responder recorded; amounts are often blank or estimated.
Its ZIP codes
Each ZIP code that touches Bellville, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.
| ZIP | Share | Water | Radon | Home value | Schools | Flood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44813 Jefferson Township and Bellville | 24% | Mostly private wells | 12.1 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1973 | Clear Fork Valley Local · 4 stars overall | 3.2% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
Local government
How its elections and ballot issues came out and the state auditor's record.
Money issues on the ballot since 2015: 1 of 1 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 1 of 1.
Ballot issues
| Date | Issue | For | Against | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-11-03 | Issue: Village of Bellville - Tax Levy-Replacement 4M 5Yrs- Streets (4.0 mills, replacement) | 456 | 229 | Passed (66.57% for) |
| 2015-11-03 | Issue: Village of Bellville - Electric Aggregation | 390 | 254 | Passed (60.56% for) |
| 2015-11-03 | Issue: Village of Bellville - Gas Aggregation | 392 | 248 | Passed (61.25% for) |
Elections for office
| Date | Office | Candidates and votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015-11-03 | Member of Council | Victor Swisher 443, 59.3%; Richard Osborn 304, 40.7% |
| 2015-11-03 | Mayor | Darrell E. Banks 627, 100.0% |
Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked. The county's results on file run through 2018-08-07; later elections are not loaded yet.
Auditor of State record
- No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
- Financial Audit, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-12-03
On the November 3, 2026 ballot
Statewide question: State Issue 3: Voter ID
Local questions for Bellville, Richland County and its school district:
- Bellville Village: Renews a 2-mill property tax levy to maintain & operate cemeteries of Bellville Village for 5 years, beginning in 2027.
- Bellville Village: Renews a 3-mill property tax levy for the police protection of Bellville Village for 5 years, beginning in 2027.
Races, candidates and every question for an address: your ballot. County offices and judges are on your county board's sample ballot.
The county
Richland County: 12 ZIP codes, 27 cities, villages and townships with pages here, 124,893 people (Census Bureau estimate, July 2025).
Nearby places
Rain and snow
How much has actually fallen on Bellville, day by day, from 1892 to now. Daily totals, not averages.
- rain, last 30 days
- 1.43 in
- 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-30
- rain so far in 2026
- 42.2 in
- 4.4 in above normal for the date
- snow so far in 2026
- 27.0 in
- a normal year brings 35.2 in
- a normal year
- 44.4 in
- average of 30 years, 1991-2020
| Month | Rain (in) | Snow (in) | Days counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 1.43 | — | 30 |
| September 2026 | 4.62 | — | 30 |
| August 2026 | 7.21 | — | 31 |
| July 2026 | 3.75 | — | 31 |
| June 2026 | 3.48 | — | 30 |
| May 2026 | 6.80 | — | 31 |
| April 2026 | 7.09 | — | 30 |
| March 2026 | 4.41 | 1.2 | 31 |
| February 2026 | 1.34 | 5.8 | 28 |
| January 2026 | 2.06 | 19.9 | 31 |
| December 2025 | 2.99 | 12.4 | 31 |
| November 2025 | 2.07 | 2.7 | 30 |
| Wettest year (estimated) | 2011 — 61.7 in |
|---|---|
| Driest year (estimated) | 1963 — 24.7 in |
| Snowiest year (estimated) | 1893 — 82.8 in |
| Wettest day (estimated) | 14 September 1979 — 4.05 in |
| Heaviest snowfall in a day (estimated) | 6 February 2010 — 10.08 in |
| Deepest snow on the ground (estimated) | 10 January 1905 — 25.00 in |
Estimated, not measured. No rain gauge has ever stood inside Bellville, so every figure here is worked out from the gauges around it - the nearest ones weighted most. Treat them as close estimates rather than readings.
48,874 days of records, 1892-12-01 to 2026-10-30. Source: NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily, 3,240 gauges in and around Ohio. A day is "gauged" when a gauge standing inside the boundary reported it, and the value is the mean of those gauges. Otherwise it is interpolated by inverse distance from every gauge reporting within 50 miles. Nothing is carried forward, back-filled or smoothed. Against NOAA nClimDiv county monthly precipitation over 136,848 complete county-months (checked 2026-11-01): correlation 0.9515, median absolute difference 0.217 in a month. Built 2026-11-01 from the Cracked Buckeye precipitation archive. Snow is the softer number — snowfall is measured by hand with a ruler, no agency publishes a gridded county snowfall series, and blowing snow defeats every observer.
Environmental permits and filings
What Ohio EPA has on file for Bellville: permits, inspections, violations, cleanups and the state loans behind sewer and water work. Every line links to the agency's own document.
- facilities and sites on file
- 13
- those placed on the map inside Bellville
| Program | Facilities and sites |
|---|---|
| State sewer loans | 4 |
| Public drinking water | 3 |
| Hazardous waste | 2 |
| Sewer and water-line construction | 2 |
| Wastewater and stormwater discharge | 2 |
| Date | Facility or site | What |
|---|---|---|
| CLEAR FORK HIGH SCHOOL PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| CLEAR FORK HIGH SCHOOL PWS | Public drinking water compliance letter | |
| CLEAR FORK HIGH SCHOOL PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water compliance letter | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water notice of violation | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water report | |
| CLEAR FORK HIGH SCHOOL PWS | Public drinking water notice of violation | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water notice of violation | |
| BELLVILLE YMCA | Sewer and water-line construction permit | |
| BELLVILLE YMCA | Sewer and water-line construction permit | |
| BELLVILLE BUILDING PROJECT | Sewer and water-line construction permit | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water warning letter | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water plan | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water notice of violation | |
| BELLVILLE BUILDING PROJECT | Wastewater and stormwater discharge permit | |
| BELLVILLE BUILDING PROJECT | Sewer and water-line construction permit | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water violation resolved | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water plan | |
| CLEAR FORK HIGH SCHOOL PWS | Public drinking water plan | |
| CLEAR FORK HIGH SCHOOL PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water notice of violation | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| BELLVILLE VILLAGE WATER PWS | Public drinking water notice of violation |
Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.
Quick answers
What county is Bellville, Ohio in?
Bellville is a village in Richland County, Ohio, with 1,964 residents.
When was Bellville, Ohio founded?
Bellville was settled 1808; laid out 1815; incorporated 1841. Founders on record: Robert Bell (platted the town on land bought from first settler James McCluer). Source
How did Bellville, Ohio get its name?
The settlement was first called the 'McCluer settlement' for James McCluer, who entered the land in 1808. Source
What ZIP code is Bellville, Ohio?
Most of Bellville is in ZIP code 44813.
Where does Bellville, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Bellville (Bellville Village): Mostly private wells.
Cite this page
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Bellville, Richland County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/bellville/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
How to cite · Report a correction · Built 2026-10-31