In 1808, two men James McCluer and Jonathan Oldfield blazed a trail from Fredericktown to Bellville. That route is now Ankneytown Road. They built a cabin, the first one in the township. They began to make necessary improvements to the land, with the help of a tornado that leveled some of the land. James then went to Canton Land office to register the land in their names. So began the development of Bellville.

In 1812 a blockhouse was built near the Bellville Depot. In 1814, Robert Bell purchased a quarter section from McCluer and laid out the original plat of Bellville. Fourty-eight lots were proposed between E. Main Street, North to Ogle Street and South to the first alley North of Durbin. Enoch Ogle bought lot #1 and established a tavern. The first post office  was established in 1824 with Isaac Hoy the postmaster.