In 1953, a fire destroyed the third floor of Belleville High School. The blaze began in a basement store room and swept to the second and third floors via a nearby ventilating shaft. No one was injured, but the second and third floors were damaged beyond use for the rest of the school year. The third floor had remained closed, and before the demolition of the building classes continued on the first and second stories.[3]
During the Winter of 2010, the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education approved the accelerated schedule that the architect of Fanning Howey and Granger Construction presented. The new Belleville High School was built just east of the location where the old Belleville High School stood. The new school was completed in the Summer of 2012 and school was in session for the first time (at the new school) on September 4, 2012. The class of 2013 will be the first to graduate from the new school.
As of August 2012, the old Belleville High School was demolished, excluding the music wing, auditorium, and cafeteria. The current building is still in use today.
WBHS Channel 19
In 2000, Comcast set the school up with an educational access station which would come to be called WBHS Channel 19. The station is almost entirely run by students[4][5] taking the year-long "Channel 19" course with only the aid of one instructor and the occasional alumni volunteer. The station broadcasts the daily produced morning announcements, student projects, Semi-annual livetelethons and other events from around the area which are either taped by the high school's T.E.C. Club or submitted by parents & staff. The station itself is shown on channel 19[6] as well as HD channel 902 in Comcast's Van Buren Township Corp, 9502.[7][8]
Athletics
Bellville has found success in a variety of sports, holding multiple state tites. Softball won back to back state championships in 1983 & 1984, and Football win back to back state championships in 2021 & 2022 followed by state runners up in 2023. Belleville's team rivals are the Lincoln High School Railsplitters and the Romulus High School Eagles.
Mascot
Belleville’s mascot is the tiger. Since the 1960s the school has had an actor suited up for athletic and school events. Originally named “Paws” until 2022 when the tiger was reintroduced as “Tyrone The Tiger” the mascot is active on Instagram with over 600 followers.
^Kuban, Kurt (July 12, 2001). "Popular BHS video program making impact in Hollywood". Canton Observer. Vol. 27, no. 2. With more than 200 active students, Belleville High School's video production program is one of the school's most innovative and popular programs. Students in the program learn every aspect of video production and programming, and even run their own cable television station. The shows they produce are watched on a regular basis by many in the community. Not bad for something that began as a small club with just a handful of students back in the late 1980s, The program is the brainchild of teacher Steve Wilson, who previously spent 17 years as the school's auditorium manager.
^Otzman, Rosemary K. (April 4, 2013). "Image caption". Belleville Independent. Vol. 19, no. 14. Belleville, Michigan. a very active video club that produced a vibrant educational cable channel 19, with live and recorded school board meetings.
^Otzman, Rosemary K. (May 14, 2014). "Extra things I know". Belleville Independent. Vol. 20, no. 20. Belleville, Michigan.
^"Argus Family Graduates"(PDF). Argus Eyes. Vol. 8, no. 5. June 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 2014-05-14. Myra Lea MacPherson Belleville High School Daughter of Douglas MacPherson
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