Typically a village begins when individuals and families decide to settle in a place, build homes, stores, and other buildings for their common good, and decide on a name for the settlement. Bellaire's story progressed in a different fashion: a building for the common good was required and a plat of vacant land was selected. Settlers came afterward. In 1879, Antrim County supervisors, meeting in a temporary courthouse in Elk Rapids, decided that inland population growth and difficulty in travel necessitated placement of the county seat in a more central location. They chose land in Kearney Township owned by Ambrose Palmer, and on June 24, 1879, Bellaire became the county seat. By 1900, businesses and families filled the village, farms and lumber operations surrounded it, and the population boomed.

Bellaire grew to prominence in the early 19th century when rich deposits of coal and sand were discovered. Riverboat captain John Fink began mining and shipping coal in the 1830s. Later numerous glass factories earned Bellaire the nickname "Glass City." Industry grew rapidly, and the railroads brought tradesmen and immigrants. In addition to coal mines and glass factories, Bellaire has been home to an enamel works, a steel factory, lumberyards, brick makers, and bottling companies. Today Bellaire has two historical sites honoring its industry, but business is not the region's only claim to fame. Few remember that Bellaire had a water ballet team, the Aquabelles. Kathy Crumbley, the first female sheriff in the state of Ohio, is a Bellaire native, and the village is the birthplace of baseball legends William "Brickyard" Kennedy and Sol White. Theodore Roosevelt campaigned in the city park where, later, Bob Hope left his footprints in cement. Bellaire celebrates both the industry that built the village and the people who made it memorable.

A backward look into the daily humorous life of a nave young teenagercoming of age in an enchanting little northern Michigan Village.

Investigates OEO grants to Medical Foundation of Bellaire, Ohio, to provide health services for the indigent of Belmont County and adjacent counties.

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