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History · Balltown

Balltown’s post office opened in 1884, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1940.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: James Steakley · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Balltown began

When was Balltown founded?

1884

The Balltown post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 56 in 19402020 census: 79142 years
Founding year: the first Balltown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Balltown’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Balltown are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 106 in 1980; 79 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Balltown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Balltown’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Balltown, census by census

010019401960198020002020Peak: 106

Peaked at 106 in 1980; 79 people lived here in 2020.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Balltown’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Balltown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Balltown.

Read it all →

Balltown was named for John Ball, an early settler said to have lived on a Mississippi river island before 1850.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Balltown, 1884 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Balltown post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1902Post officeThe Balltown post office closes
  6. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 106
By decade

Balltown, decade by decade

Today5 recent
BalltownIowaPopPlot2021BalltownIowaPopPlotMississippi scenic overlook in2010Mississippi scenic overlook inMississippi overlook sign in2010Mississippi overlook sign inMississippi overlook in2010Mississippi overlook inIAMap-doton-Balltown2004IAMap-doton-Balltown
On the map

Balltown on the map, 1900 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Balltown. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Balltown on the 1900 USGS mapBalltown on the 1984 USGS map1900Lancaster sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Balltown.

Famous people

Famous people close to Balltown

Nobody well known was born in Balltown itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Kate MulgrewAmerican actress · b. 1955
Margaret LindsayAmerican actress · b. 1910
D
David DrakeAmerican author of science fiction and fantasy … · b. 1945
Kayla BanwarthAmerican volleyball player and coach · b. 1989
D
Donald Ryder DickeyAmerican ornithologist · b. 1887
Castello Newton HolfordAmerican novelist · b. 1845
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Balltown had its own post office from 1884 to 1902.

Balltown
1884–1902
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Balltown Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Balltown
Saint Francis of Assisi

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Balltown’s history

What year was Balltown founded?

The Balltown post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.