Bellevue is a city in Clay County, Texas, in the state's North Texas region along U.S. Route 287. The town sits roughly 78 miles northwest of Fort Worth and 36 miles southeast of Wichita Falls, placing it within the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area. Bellevue counted 289 residents in the 2020 census. The community's history includes a defining early disaster: a tornado struck the town and killed fourteen residents, after which Bellevue was rebuilt and renewed its growth. The population surpassed 700 by the middle 1920s and stood at 386 in 2000 before settling to its current small-town figure. That story of rebuilding reflects the resilience characteristic of North Texas frontier and farm communities. Bellevue sits within a landscape of ranchland and farmland along the Red River Valley region, where agriculture and ranching have long shaped the local economy and way of life. The town is compact, with its school, churches, and small businesses anchoring the community, and the open countryside beginning almost immediately beyond the last streets. Clay County itself has remained a largely rural, agricultural county, with Wichita Falls serving as the regional center for employment, shopping, and medical care. Bellevue's position within that county ties it to a long history of cattle ranching and farming that continues to define the area today. The town's own Bellevue Independent School District serves local students, preserving a rural school option close to home. Its position on U.S. 287 keeps Wichita Falls within a short drive, while Fort Worth and the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex lie within reach to the southeast. Bellevue offers a quiet, small-town North Texas setting with the convenience of highway access to larger centers.