Belleville, on the shores of the Bay of Quinte, traces its beginnings to the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists. For 30 years the centre of the present city was reserved for the Mississauga First Nation. White settlers who built dwellings and businesses on the land paid annual rent to them until the land was "surrendered" and a town plot laid out in 1816. The new town quickly became an important lumbering, farming, and manufacturing centre. Early influences include the Marmora Iron Wor...