Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "beautiful town"Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 27, 2015.Belleville History: People And Events, Westfield Historical Society. Accessed November 8, 2011. "Belleville, a place carrying the French name for 'beautiful town,' stands on the west bank of the Passaic River in Essex County, New Jersey.") is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 38,222. an increase of 2,296 (+6.4%) from the 2010 census count of 35,926,

History

Originally known as "Second River" or "Washington", the inhabitants renamed the settlement "Belleville" in 1797."Belleville History: People And Events – A Town Gets Its Name", WestfieldNJ.com. Accessed September 14, 2017. "On Saturday, June 24, 1797, inhabitants of the Second River settlement met at John Ryerson's house for the purpose of giving a new name to their home. The minutes of the meeting tell what happened there: 'Resolved, that the name Second River is improper and inconsistent, as it originally applied to the brook and not to the village and therefore that some name applicable be now chosen.... Resolved, that the whole district, commonly known and called by the name of Second River be hereafter known only by the name of Washington.'" 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.The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968, John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 125. Accessed May 1 , 2026.

In 1870, Belleville became the first city on the East Coast of the United States with a Chinatown. While much of the country (especially the Western states) had strong anti-Chinese sentiment, the town welcomed a group of Chinese workers from the West Coast who had been workers on building the Central Pacific Railroad. This group of people eventually formed the basis for Chinatowns in Newark and New York City.Xu, April. "The First Chinatown on the East Coast; Several Chinese workers who helped build the Central Pacific Railroad found refuge in Belleville, NJ.", Asian American Writers' Workshop, April 7, 2017. Accessed May 8, 2017. "About 100 people watched as Perrone, the president of the Belleville Historical Society, led the ceremonial digging of the monument's foundation one rainy October morning in Belleville, New Jersey. The monument was meant to honor a group of Chinese who died around 150 years ago. They were Chinese workers who were among those who built the Central Pacific Railroad and came to live and work Belleville in 1870.... This Chinese community across the Hudson River was actually responsible for giving rise to the Newark (NJ) Chinatown and eventually, the Manhattan Chinatown — which later, successively, became the largest Chinese communities in the eastern United States."

In 1981, the town was one of seven Essex County municipalities to pass a referendum to become a township, joining four municipalities that had already made the change, of what would ultimately be more than a dozen Essex County municipalities to reclassify as townships in order take advantage of federal revenue sharing policies that allocated townships a greater share of government aid to municipalities on a per capita basis."Chapter VI: Municipal Names and Municipal Classification", p. 73. New Jersey State Commission on County and Municipal Government, 1992. Accessed September 24, 2015."Removing Tiering From The Revenue Sharing Formula Would Eliminate Payment Inequities To Local Governments", Government Accountability Office, April 15, 1982. Accessed September 24, 2015. "In 1978, South Orange Village was the first municipality to change its name to the 'township' of South Orange Village effective beginning in entitlement period 10 (October 1978 to September 1979). The Borough of Fairfield in 1978 changed its designation by a majority vote of the electorate and became the 'Township of Fairfield' effective beginning entitlement period 11 (October 1979 to September 1980).... However, the Revenue Sharing Act was not changed and the actions taken by South Orange and Fairfield prompted the Town of Montclair and West Orange to change their designation by referendum in the November 4, 1980, election. The municipalities of Belleville, Verona, Bloomfield, Nutley, Essex Fells, Caldwell, and West Caldwell have since changed their classification from municipality to a township."Narvaez, Alfonso A. "New Jersey Journal", The New York Times, December 27, 1981. Accessed September 24, 2015. "Under the Federal system, New Jersey's portion of the revenue sharing funds is disbursed among the 21 counties to create three 'money pools.' One is for county governments, one for 'places' and a third for townships. By making the change, a community can use the 'township advantage' to get away from the category containing areas with low per capita incomes."Karcher, Alan J. New Jersey's Multiple Municipal Madness, pp. 119–120. Rutgers University Press, 1998. . Accessed September 24, 2015.1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed January 1, 2026.

Frankie Valli and the band The Four Seasons formed in Belleville,Rotella, Mark. "Straight Out of Newark", The New York Times, October 2, 2005. Accessed March 3, 2012. "You remember the Four Seasons, right? Their sound, the wail of Frankie Valli – "She-e-e-e-e-e-ry baby" – layered over solid three-part harmonies, was the music of the streets of urban New Jersey and New York. It was the sound of the projects of Newark and the poor Italian neighborhoods of Belleville... Sitting in the Waldorf-Astoria in a polo shirt and leather loafers, he was describing his neighborhood in Belleville in the 1950s when he, his brother Nick, and a friend named Nick Massi first formed the Variety Trio, then the Varietones." as did The Delicates, the late-1950s and early-1960s girl group made up of Denise Ferri, Arleen Lanzotti and Peggy Santiglia.Clemente, John. Girl Groups: Fabulous Females that Rocked the world, p. 13. Krause Publications, 2000. Accessed June 28, 2022. "The belles from Belleville, The Delicates, 1959, (L-R) Arlene Lanzotti, Peggy Santiglia, Denise Ferri."

In 1994, Congress passed a resolution recognizing Belleville as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 3.37 square miles (8.71 km2), including 3.30 square miles (8.54 km2) of land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km2) of water (2.05%).

Silver Lake (2010 total population of 4,243, United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 4, 2012.) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) defined by the United States Census Bureau as of the 2010 Census that is split between Belleville (with 3,769 of the CDP's residents) and Bloomfield (474 of the total).New Jersey: 2010 – Population and Housing Unit Counts – 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32), United States Census Bureau, August 2012, p. III-3. Accessed November 4, 2012. "Silver Lake (formed from parts of deleted whole-township Belleville and Bloomfield CDPs)"

Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Belwood, Big Tree and Soho.Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed May 22, 2015.

The Second River forms much of the border between Belleville and Newark as it runs through Branch Brook Park.

The township of Belleville has given itself the nickname the Cherry Blossom Capital of America, with an annual display that is larger than the famed Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., site of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.A History Of Branch Brook's Cherry Blossoms – Belleville: The Cherry Blossom Capital of America , Belleville Public Library and Information Center. Accessed November 8, 2011.Staff. "Editorial: Give Belleville tourists reason to stay", Belleville Times, April 21, 2011, backed up by the Internet Archive as of October 1, 2013. Accessed September 14, 2017. "Each spring, people flock to Essex County's Cherry Blossom Festival in Branch Brook Park. The county park system has the largest variety of blossoms in the world.... Belleville already promotes itself as a cherry blossom capital, but perhaps more could be done, especially this time of year, when so many people descend on Branch Brook Park. It's one of the few major events attracting people outside the area to Belleville."

The township borders the municipalities of Bloomfield, Newark and Nutley in Essex County; Lyndhurst and North Arlington in Bergen County; and Kearny in Hudson County.Areas touching Belleville, MapIt. Accessed March 19, 2020.Municipalities, Essex County, New Jersey Register of Deeds and Mortgages. Accessed March 19, 2020.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.

Demographics

2020 census +Belleville township, Essex County, New Jersey – Racial and Ethnic Composition (NH = Non-Hispanic)Race / EthnicityPop 2010Pop 2020% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)13,86810,31037.59%26.96%Black or African American alone (NH)2,7943,0927.57%8.08%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)66500.18%0.13%Asian alone (NH)4,2514,20111.52%10.99%Pacific Islander alone (NH)5180.01%0.05%Some Other Race alone (NH)2905170.79%1.35%Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)5198531.41%2.23%Hispanic or Latino (any race)14,13319,18138.93%50.23%Total35,92638,222100.00%100.00%

2010 census The 2010 United States census counted 35,926 people, 13,395 households, and 9,001 families in the township. The population density was . There were 14,327 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 60.55% (21,753) White, 9.12% (3,277) Black or African American, 0.35% (126) Native American, 12.00% (4,312) Asian, 0.05% (18) Pacific Islander, 13.97% (5,018) from other races, and 3.96% (1,422) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 39.34% (14,133) of the population.

Of the 13,395 households, 30.5% had children under the age of 18; 44.3% were married couples living together; 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present and 32.8% were non-families. Of all households, 27.0% were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.29.

21.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 93.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 89.0 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $60,127 (with a margin of error of +/− $2,658) and the median family income was $69,181 (+/− $4,525). Males had a median income of $46,656 (+/− $2,959) versus $42,237 (+/− $2,818) for females. The per capita income for the township was $27,668 (+/− $1,357). About 3.7% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over., United States Census Bureau. Accessed March 3, 2012.

2000 census