Bellevue is an unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

, rural community in Yamhill County

Yamhill County, Oregon

-National protected areas:*Siuslaw National Forest *Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 84,992 people, 28,732 households, and 21,376 families residing in the county. The population density was 119 people per square mile . There were 30,270...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is named for the French words for "beautiful view". It is not known who named the community, but it was settled in about 1860, and a previous post office in the area was named "Muddy". The community is located on the donation land claim

Donation Land Claim Act

The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 was a statute enacted by the United States Congress intended to promote homestead settlement in the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest...

 of Hathaway Yocum, who came to Oregon from Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 in 1851. Bellevue post office operated from 1869 to 1904.

Geography

Bellevue is located on Oregon Route 18, eight miles south of McMinnville

McMinnville, Oregon

McMinnville is the county seat and largest city of Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. According to Oregon Geographic Names, it was named by its founder, William T. Newby , an early immigrant on the Oregon Trail, for his hometown of McMinnville, Tennessee...

 and four miles north of Sheridan

Sheridan, Oregon

Sheridan is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. Platted in the 1860s when it received a post office, the city was incorporated in 1880. A major fire burned much of the city in 1913, and a flood covered much of the city in 1964...

. Bellevue is also the western terminus of the Bellevue-Hopewell Highway.

Education

The land to build the first school for Bellevue School District 51 was deeded by Thomas Morris in 1872. The first Bellevue schoolhouse was one-roomed, built around the time the land was deeded. This schoolhouse was in use until a new two-room school was built in 1917. After 1939, Bellevue began transporting seventh and eighth grade students to McMinnville School District 40. In 1942, all students began to be sent to Sheridan School District 48, before, in 1948, all students were sent to District 40. In 1950, Bellevue eventually consolidated with District 40. The school is still in existence, though it has been converted to other uses.