Ballston
Unincorporated community
Grain elevator in Ballston
Grain elevator in Ballston
Coordinates: 45°04′00″N 123°19′15″W / 45.06667°N 123.32083°W / 45.06667; -123.32083
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyPolk County
Founded1878
Founded byIsaac Ball
Elevation
[1]
184 ft (56 m)
ZIP code
97378
Area codes503 and 971
GNIS feature ID1162825[1]

Ballston is an unincorporated community, in Polk County, Oregon, United States. It is southeast of Sheridan and southwest of Amity. It is considered a ghost town.[2]

Ballston was founded in 1878 by pioneer Isaac Ball on his donation land claim.[3] Ball and his family immigrated from England, and arrived in Oregon via the Oregon Trail in 1848.[4] Ball named the town "Ballsville", and it had a post office of the same name.[3] The name of the post office was changed to Ballston in 1880.[3] The post office was discontinued in 1953 when it became a rural station of Sheridan; it was discontinued all together in 1969.[3]

Ballston was a station on the Dayton, Sheridan and Grande Ronde Railroad (DS&GR), later the Oregonian Railway. Isaac Ball was an early promoter of the DS&GR when it was originally a narrow gauge railway line.[5] The line changed ownership again to become part of the Southern Pacific Railroad; as of 2009, Ballston is a station of the Portland and Western Railroad.[6]

In 1915, the community had a population of 104, a public school, two churches, and three fraternal lodges.[7]

The 1855 Ballston School building, no longer in use as a school, is thought to be the oldest school building still standing in Polk County or perhaps the entire state.[2][7] Ballston County Park is located in the community and includes the school.[2]

The Ballston Community Club meets in a newer former schoolhouse originally moved from Airlie, another community on the railroad line.[8] The Community Club hosted an annual turkey dinner for many years.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ballston, Oregon
  2. 1 2 3 "Explore Polk County" (PDF). Polk County Itemizer-Observer. May 22, 2009. p. 77C. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 48. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
  4. ↑ Hines, Rev. H. K. (1893). An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon. Lewis Pub. Co.
  5. ↑ Scott, Leslie M. (1919). "History of the Narrow Gauge Railroad in the Willamette Valley". Oregon Historical Quarterly. Oregon Historical Society: 144. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Portland & Western Railroad". Genesee & Wyoming. Archived from the original on February 24, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  7. 1 2 Friedman, Ralph (1991). In Search of Western Oregon. Caxton Press. p. 193. ISBN 0-87004-332-3.
  8. 1 2 Klooster, Karl (July 12, 2008). "Bouncing around Ballston". News-Register. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2009.

Further reading

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