Belle Haven

Belle Haven is the national capital, largest city and the financial seat of the Commonwealth of Baker Park. Nearly 10% of the population of the Commonwealth live within the areas that include the incorporated City and the adjoining Belle Haven County, usually referred to as "Metro Belle Haven" or "Capital Area".

From the beginning of settlement of Baker Park, Belle Haven has held a prominent place in the lives of the country's citizens, the national economy and the spirit of nationhood. In 2012, a paper by noted demographic expert Dr. Eric Headley offered up the theory that 5 of every 6 persons (83%) of entire population that have ever lived in the country since its founding have been physically present in Belle Haven at least once in their lives.

History
Although Newport was the first established settlement in Baker Park, Belle Haven was selected to be the primary center of immigration and relocation for the country; on April 30, 1880--13 days following the official claim of control, when the initial wave of permanent workers arrived--the steamer Belhaven landed a party of approximately 16 on the northern edge of the river. When the "officials" present--William J Baker, oldest grandson of George W Baker; George W Baker II, his 21 year old cousin who would be the nation's second Prime Minister 25 years later; Duncan Evans Jacoby, the ship's captain who is said to have chosen the spot; and two other Baker Company employees--had done the ritual preliminaries, they drove heavy cast iron spikes into the ground in the manner of a star.

This was not at the place that was later designated as "Zero Point", the round disk from where all official measurements of distances in the country are drawn; until well into the 1960's the mythology that the two spots were the same was widely accepted, but research showed that the spot where the spikes were hammered in was approximately 30-40 feet to the west, and about 15 feet further away from the river's edge.

Governance
Belle Haven was the first municipality in the Commonwealth to be designated as a city under the definitions laid out in the Commonwealth of Baker Park Act (1892) [as amended]. It received a charter from Parliament upon passage of the Corporation of the City of Belle Haven Act (1893) [as amended] (Public Law 1-1-16) which provided for a Corporation Board, consisting of three individuals chosen by the State Assembly to oversee the financial affairs of the city; an elected Council; and a Mayor elected separately from the rest of the council.

The Corporation Board is solely responsible for all revenue & spending, with the Chairman directing the functions of the other two officers: the Secretary, in charge of expenditure, and the Bailiff, who collects revenue.

The Mayor and Council appoint the heads of the departments for the city: Public Safety (police/fire/emergency), Public Works (roads/sanitation/health). and Public Utilities (water/power/sewer). The top official of other offices are filled by civil servants--Law, Zoning & Planning, Parks & Recreation, Personnel, Permits & Inspections, Transit. The Council are tasked with writing, debate and passage of ordinances or changes to existing ordinances in the Corporation Code. The city has Baker Park's largest council, with 14 members chosen by at large voting to four year terms on staggered schedule, in addition to a Mayor who also elected at large to a four year term.

Belle Haven County is the second largest political division in the country with over 2.1 million residents, primarily on the south side of the river as well as the areas to the west of the City. It was established by the Town & County Law (1893) and originally made up the entire southern third of Baker Park State; the subsequent creation of Riverside & Mansfield Counties (1919), Highland & Caledonia Counties (1926), West Belle Haven County (1930), and Salisbury & Northridge Counties (1934) reduced the area by 80% to its current boundaries.

The Belle Haven County Council (previously the Belle Haven County Commission prior to 1956) is made up of the six Commissioners--Sheriff, Treasurer, Receiver, Clerk, Public Works, Health--elected by the residents of the County at large (not including the inhabitants of the City) and 21 representatives elected from the various boroughs and townships within the county, to three year staggered terms that see one third of the Council standing every third year. The Council selects a Administrator to serve as the chief executive of the county, with the Sheriff serving as the Chair of the Council and nominal head of the county.

The City and County have combined to jointly administer several vital services--police; fire, emergency and ambulance service; public transit; sewer & water; and public health, as well as a joint committee on the Master Transportation Plan. These cooperative projects make up the Metro Belle Haven Government

Area
Belle Haven is the largest political subdivision in the nation, covering 1,448.8 square miles on both sides of the Belle Haven River.

Layout
The city grew outward from the area closest to the Belle Haven River where Company House stood; this was the building where all newly arrived immigrants were registered, assigned temporary lodging and then returned to for their initial interview. It was a north & west pattern, in phases that were concentric arcs roughly equidistant from one another with Wharf Street and Riverfront Street (current day Main and Front Streets respectively) the eastern and southern boundaries.

"Old" Belle Haven
The first 1/4 of a mile along these roads from just beyond Company House became known as 'Downtown' mainly due to the fact it was closer to the river and hence lower in elevation; 'Midtown' described the further inland areas around 1/3 to 2/5 of a mile in a straight line from CH to the northwest, and 'Uptown' still a bit more distant--around 5/8 of a mile--and 12-18 feet higher in elevation than the river bank at normal stage. The first area of permanent housing began in a clearing a little bit beyond the end of Wharf Street, with a meticulously laid out garden square townhouse row enclave for the families of the major investors of the colony--the three Baker brothers, their sons plus several other close associates of the family. But the rapid growth of the city meant the area was left to the second wave of well-to-do citizens as the Bakers and their neighbors found more open spaces in other parts of the capital.

Local K-12
The Belle Haven Metropolitan City School District is the largest public district in the Commonwealth with over 340,000 students between the ages of 5-18 enrolled in grades K-12. There are 44 high schools (grades 9-12), 126 middle schools (5-8) and 230 elementary schools (K-4), in addition to 21 other specialized facilities. There are also several school districts that surround the City serving nearly 425,000 students--Northwestern Central School District in Overbrook and Danville; Belle Haven County Consolidated SD, Broadmoor Central SD & Southeastern Central SD, all of which serve southern Belle Haven County; Asbury Central SD and Brentwood SD, which serve the northwestern corner of the county.

Colleges & Universities
Four major public universities are located in the Metro Belle Haven area; University of Baker Park is the oldest institution of higher learning in the Commonwealth; University of the Commonwealth is the largest university by enrollment; Baker Park A&M University is one of the nation's top engineering schools; and the University of Belle Haven is the city's municipally controlled institution. In addition, the Belle Haven College of Art is located just west of downtown.