Belleville, town in Essex County, northeastern New Jersey, on the Passaic River. It is a residential and industrial community adjoining Newark. Major manufactures include aircraft parts, plastic products, electrical equipment, and precision instruments. Settled by Dutch colonists in the 1680s and later known as the Second River section of Newark, the community was renamed in 1797 and separated from Newark in 1839. Belleville was incorporated as a city in 1910. An early steamboat, powered by the first low-pressure steam engine, was built in Belleville in 1797 and 1798. Population 35,367 (1980); 34,213 (1990); 34,213 (1996 estimate).
