 Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz
 Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz
BELLEFONTAINE
Bellefontaine was one of the first settlements made by Americans in what is now Illinois. The earliest settlers included families of Revolutionary War veterans who had served with George Rogers Clark. Captain James Moore brought a band of pioneers from Virginia and Maryland in the winter of 1781-1782. The settlement took its name from a nearby spring the French called "La Belle Fontaine" (Beautiful Spring). The 1800 Federal Census showed that Bellefontaine, with 286 inhabitants, had become the third largest community in the Illinois Territory.
[House is called La Bell Fontaine, at location of town, 2 blocks south of marker.]
Erected by the Monroe County Historical Society and the Illinois State Historical Society, 1976.
Church St. & Hoerner St., SE corner, Waterloo, Monroe County Illinois
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Illinois 
