H. L. Mack, county clerk of Benton County, informed the compiler in December 1926 that he lived in Bellfountain for 13 years and there was no question in his mind but that it was named for a town of the same name in Ohio by local residents who had previously lived in the Ohio town. In Ohio, the name is spelled Bellefontaine. A post office called Dusty was established in this locality December 6, 1895, with Helen Elgin first postmaster: the name of the office was not satisfactory, for obvious reasons. Postal records are not entirely clear, but it seems apparent that the name of the office was changed to Bellfountain July 31, 1902. The office was closed in January 1905. The general area of Bellfountain was known in early days as Belknaps Settlement.