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Das Belleville Haus
Matt Nagel Belleville has had a long and rich history of labor unions fighting to gain and maintain rights for its members. Organized labor has existed in Belleville since before the Civil War, but it was not until April 12, 1891, that a combined and centralized union was formed. At that time Belleville and other St. Clair County communities such as East St. Louis were becoming focal points for major industries moving to southern Illinois. Coal mining played a major part in the development of these communities. Coal was first mined in the region along the American Bottom bluffs. Later, as coal was discovered away from the bluffs, many shafts, or underground mines, were dug. Today the people of Belleville enjoy the benefits of strong labor unions and are proud of being regarded as a strong American Federation of Labor city as well as an industrial center. This all started when the Central Trades and Labor body was formed due to the increase in union members. Some of the unions that joined the organization included the cigar makers, glass blowers, molders, musicians, brewery workers, coal miners, carpenters, and stove mounters. However, today many local people have forgotten or are not aware of this rich history. With this in mind, a group of Belleville residents are attempting to establish a museum to preserve the history of local labor in a lasting tribute. Christened Das Belleville Haus, it will be devoted to the labor and industrial history of Belleville. The founders of the museum, Harold A. Wright and Judy Belleville, have set lofty goals for the project. The facility will be based in a 160-year-old house at 123 North Church Street. This house was chosen for several reasons. It is one of the German Street houses in Belleville, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The brick building was built in 1840 by Conrad Bornman, the first German immigrant to Belleville. Brick was a mainstay of construction at the time because brick manufacturing was one of the larger businesses in Belleville. Wright plans to focus the museum's attention and space on Belleville's coal miners' unions and the stove manufacturers' unions, since these two major industries were based in and around Belleville. The abundance of coal caused a mass migration of workers to the area. This was a major reason why the first national coal miners' union held their meetings in Belleville in 1861. This also aided the stove manufacturing industry in Belleville, which was home to fifty foundries at one time and became one of the leading stove manufacturing sites in the world. Both of these industries benefited when abundant coal deposits were found in southern Illinois. The coal provided a cheap source of energy to run the factories not only in Belleville but throughout St. Clair County, and enabled the industries to excel. The histories of other Belleville industries will also be presented. Some of these industries were breweries, nail factories, carriage making, mills of all kinds, agricultural implement manufacturing, and seed-oil processing. The wide variety of these industries symbolizes the wide variety of workers in Belleville making a wide variety of items. The facility is not yet open to the public, but it is well on its way to being completed. It will consist of five rooms, each specializing in an area of Belleville's labor past. The five rooms include a visitor's center, industrial hall, a display of the first backyard foundry, a union hall, and a general exhibit area. Wright hopes to open in late 1998. The original costs of the project totaled over $207,000. Much of the cost has been paid with contributions from Belleville residents. In addition to generous cash contributions and volunteer work restoring the building, local residents have donated many historical artifacts such as stoves, patents of inventions that originated in Belleville, brewing implements, and agricultural machinery. When the facility opens, the museum directors hope to provide a regional tourist attraction, an educational environment where people will have a chance to learn the impact the industrial and labor movements had on the community in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, an exhibit depicting the city's role in various labor unions' past, and a promotion of civic activities and community projects. Das Belleville Haus is well on its way to becoming a main attraction in Belleville, where its residents can learn much about the rich history in the region's labor and industrial activities.—[From student historian's interview with Judy Belleville, Sept. 17, 1997; Belleville News Democrat, Feb. 22 and June 12, 1997; Brink McDonough and Co., History of St. Clair County Illinois, 1881; Alvin Louis Nebelsick, A History of Belleville; student historian's interview with Harold A. Wright, Sept. 16, 1997.]
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