Editing Waterloo, Illinois (section)

===Post–Revolutionary War===
The first documented English speakers came in the spring of 1782, when James Moore (lumberjack), Larken Rutherford, and James Garretson, of [[Maryland]] and [[Virginia]], settled at or near Bellefontaine. Upon their arrival, they were the first permanent English speakers in the entire [[Northwest Territory]]. James Moore and many of the settlers that followed him had been soldiers in [[George Rogers Clark]]'s [[Illinois campaign]] of 1778. Moore established himself at the site of the namesake spring, and the tract remained in possession of the Moore family for over a century. The kitchen of the [[Capt. James Moore Farmstead|Bellefontaine House]], situated a short distance west of the southern end of Main Street, is believed to be Moore's original log cabin. It was restored and remains as a local landmark.

The Rutherford family settled in the vicinity, while the Garretsons selected a location a mile northeast of the spring. Judge Shadrach Bond, uncle and namesake of [[Shadrach Bond|Illinois' first governor]], was also a part of the Moore party of settlers. It had been assumed that when these immigrants left the country east of the [[Allegheny Mountains]] that the settlers would not come into conflict with the natives. However, it was not long before the new settlers began to feel threatened, and James Moore was elected captain of the company raised for the protection of the colony. At this point in time Illinois was considered a county of [[Virginia]], and so the commission received by Captain Moore came from the governor of Virginia, [[Patrick Henry]]. He was directed to establish a military post and command the Illinois militia.  Moore's company was one of four raised from Illinois, which along with six others raised elsewhere would later become the [[17th U.S. Infantry]].<ref>''Pioneer History of Illinois'', Reynolds, John, 1889, pg.406</ref>

A [[stockade|fort]] (or [[blockhouse]]) was accordingly built at Bellefontaine, and during the [[Northwest Indian War]] it was one of the most frequented places of sanctuary. Captain Moore made considerable effort to establish amicable relations with the Native Americans, and it was finally with the help of Gabriel Cerré, a wealthy merchant of St. Louis, that he achieved peace by establishing a trade agreement between the warring factions. One of Moore's sons, James B. Moore, would later be a delegate to the convention that framed the first [[Illinois Constitution]] and was eventually elected to the State Legislature. Other settlers came to the area, and by 1800 Bellefontaine's population had reached 286, making it the third largest town in Illinois and representing over a tenth of the then-total population of the territory.

[[Image:Peterstown House facade.PNG|thumb|right|275px|Stone structure built by Emery Peters Rogers in 1830, known as the [[Peterstown House]]]]