Electricity Rates in Bellefontaine, OH

History of Bellefontaine

The name Bellefontaine means "beautiful spring" in French, and is purported to refer to several springs in the area. However, locally, the original French pronunciation is not used, and it is pronounced "bell fountain."Around 1777, the Shawnee war chief Blue Jacket (Weyapiersenwah) built a settlement here, known as "Blue Jacket's Town". Blue Jacket and his band had previously occupied a village along the Scioto River, but the American Revolutionary War had reached the Ohio Country. Blue Jacket and other American Indians who took up arms against the American revolutionaries relocated in order to be closer to their British allies at Detroit.After the United States gained independence, its forces continued warfare against former Indian allies of the British. Blue Jacket's Town was destroyed in Logan's Raid, conducted by Kentucky militia in 1786 at the outset of the Northwest Indian War. The expedition was led by Benjamin Logan, namesake of Logan County. Blue Jacket and his followers relocated further northwest to the Maumee River.Beginning in the 1800s, American Revolutionary War veterans and others from Virginia and elsewhere began settling in the area of Blue Jacket's Town. Bellefontaine is on or near the edge of the Virginia Military District, where the cash-poor government granted tracts of land to veterans in payment for their services during the war.

Bellefontaine by the Numbers

Population

20,074

Median Age

40.3 yrs

Median Household Income

$64,217/yr

Median Home Value

$183,000

Homeownership Rate

69%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023)