It is the seat of Hastings County, but politically independent of it, and is the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region.

[8] Henry Corby, who arrived in 1832 with his new wife Alma Williams (they had married before immigrating), settled in Belleville.

Their son Henry Corby Jr. (Harry) took over the family business and continued to support the town: he donated funding to create the public library, helped develop the park at Massassaga Point, established the Corby Charitable Fund, helped raise funds to build the first bridge across the Bay of Quinte[9] and donated the land and development of Corby Park.

Several stone buildings were soon constructed, including a jail and court house, as well as some of the seven churches.

[12] The oldest surviving residence within the original boundaries, 67 South Front Street, was built by Alexander Oliphant Petrie in 1814.

Added to a booming trade in lumber and successful farming in the area, the railway helped increase the commercial and industrial growth.

Under Dr. Charles B. Coughlin, the school was recognized as making a significant contribution to special education.

[15] Belleville's city hall operates in a building first constructed in 1873 to house the public market and administrative offices.

[citation needed] Officially, Belleville is properly considered part of the Central Ontario region as it is located west of the St. Lawrence River's starting point, but the city is popularly considered part of Eastern Ontario as it shares the eastern region's area code 613 and K postal code.

The city's traditional humid continental climate (Dfb) (hot summers, cold winters) is moderated by its location near Lake Ontario.

In the summer months, severe thunderstorm activity is usually limited because of the non-favourable lake breeze conditions.

The summer months do not typically experience exceedingly hot temperatures, however, humidity levels can make daytime highs uncomfortable.

Remnants of tropical systems do pass through on occasion towards summer's end, resulting in one or two days of consistently wet weather.

Air masses change frequently, and while a few days may see above freezing temperatures at a time in January, the next week may bring cold and snowfall.

Autumn is usually mild, with an increase in precipitation starting in late September as conditions for fall storms develop.

[25] The largest visible minority groups in Belleville are South Asian (3.9%), Black (1.3%), Filipino (0.9%) and Chinese (0.8%) .

Some corporations operating in Belleville include the following: Many other manufacturing sector companies operate within the City of Belleville, including Bioniche Life Sciences, Sprague Foods, Airborne Systems Canada Ltd, Berry Plastics Canada, CPK Interior Products, Hanon (formerly Halla) Climate Control Canada, Reid's Dairy, Parmalat Canada – Black Diamond Cheese Division and Norampac Inc. Belleville is home to two shopping malls: The Bay View Mall in east-end Belleville and the Quinte Mall along Bell Boulevard (south of Highway 401) in North Belleville.

January February March May June July Belleville Jazz Festival August September November December The Belleville Senators play in the American Hockey League (AHL) and began play in the 2017–18 season as the top minor league affiliate of the National Hockey League's Ottawa Senators.

Belleville is also home the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club, which challenged for the America's Cup in 1881.

The McFarlands were Allan Cup champions in 1958, defeating the Kelowna Packers four games to three, and the World Championship in 1959.

Local government is represented by Belleville City Council with a mayor and eight councillors.