I am quite fortunate to come from a family of “savers”. Admittedly, some things we save are of more value and interest than others. Sometimes I/we hold on to things we should probably just toss away. But there are many things I have acquired through the years that I am happy that older members of my family did not toss away. The following are photos of postcards that were saved and passed on to me many years ago by family members. They were safely tucked away in a drawer years before these days of “sharing” things online. Although I’ve never forgotten them, I recently rediscovered them and thought they were, in fact, worthy of sharing. Some of these buildings still stand today, while others have since become part of Belleville’s past history. Do you recognize any of them?
The First United Methodist Church
This is the second of three churches used by the Methodist Church. It was built to replace a wood church built at Roys and Church streets. The brick church was built in 1900 and stood on the corner of Roys and Charles streets until 1958 when the present church was built.
The Masonic Temple
This building still stands at the corner of Main and High Streets. It was built in 1859 and added onto in the 1890’s.
Mill and Denton Road Bridge
In the early years of the Belleville area, a mill was built on the Huron River. The mill was used as a saw and flouring mill. It stood in the area below where Hayward’s Party Store stands today, and to the south side of the Denton bridge. When the river was dammed and flooded, this area became covered in the waters of Belleville Lake.
Quirk House
Anyone who has regularly traveled in and out of downtown Belleville will recognize this brick home at the top of the hill at the intersection of Belleville and Quirk roads. It was owned for many years by the Quirk family, who arrived to the area in 1847. Daniel Quirk owned some early businesses in the area, served as post master and helped to plat the city of Belleville. The family owned large amounts of land, known as Quirk Farms. In 1874, Mr. Dalrymple began building a large structure just outside of town overlooking the Huron River. He planned to build an inn where people traveling along the river could stop to eat or sleep. His plan for that building was never completed and in 1897, Quirk purchased it and transformed it into a house where he and his wife lived.
Information about these Belleville landmarks was found within the following two books which contain a wealth of local history for Belleville, Van Buren and Sumpter Townships. Again, these are items that have been handed down to me. They have been well utilized through the years in our home. I began looking and reading through them when I was a child, and I now catch my own son doing the same. Our entire household seems to have quite an appetite for local history.
Water Under the Bridge, A History of Van Buren Township by Cathy Stromme Horste and Diane Folder Wilson
See Again, A Pictoral History of Belleville by Park Gregory
