"It was full of tall, elaborately decorated old houses. Even the ordinary white-frame houses had things that made them seem different - a stained-glass windows or a bouquet of irons flowers on top of a cupola. And so many of the houses seemed to be hiding secrets" [The House with a Clock in its Walls, 23]. The city serves as the county seat of Capernaum County and has a population of around 6,000. Much of the names and locales in New Zebedee were inspired by Bellairs' hometown, the uniquely historic Marshall, Michigan.

The Name

Zebedee is a Biblical allusion, one of many religious references throughout Bellairs' work. In the Bible, Zebedee was a Hebrew fisherman and the father of James and John, two of the Apostles of Jesus (Mark 3:17). His wife is said to have been Salome, one of the women who beheld His crucifixion and brought offerings to his tomb.

Notable locations

• Barnavelt House
• G.A.R. Hall
• Hawaii House
• Heemsoth’s Rexall Drug Store
• Lyon Lake
• Masonic Temple
• National Museum of Magic
• New Zebedee Civil War Monument
• New Zebedee Fountain
• New Zebedee Opera House
• Oaklawn Hospital
• Oakridge Cemetery