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BHistory
History · Ballston

14% of Ballston’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns · #637 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Verbeck House and the Calvary Episcopal Church. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1790.

2on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

About Ballston’s history

How historic is Ballston?

B

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ballston’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ballston is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #637 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ballston’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194013.9% of homes (±4.4) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 4 historic buildings, 3.2 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 55%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 16%

New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ballston’s 3.2 sits below most of its state (29% of New York towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points).

Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Ballston’s past

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

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Ballston, and 16 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1790 and 1810, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1980. Watch Ballston change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Ballston Centre, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ballston Centre
1828–1903
Burnt Hills
1829–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Ballston CenterBallston ManorBurnt HillsCamshron Mobile Home ParkCarlyle WestCarpenters AcresCovered Wagon CourtFruitwood AcresGarrison ManorKays Trailer CourtMourningkill EstatesOakwood TerraceOrchard ParkSilver SpringsTomaselli EstatesVienna Heights
Gone or out of use
School Number 2schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 4schoolSuper 50 Drive-Inlocale
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ballston
BallstonBriggsBurnt Hills Calvary Episcopal ChurchHillsideHubbellSaint Mary's

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

Help out

Start Ballston’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Ballston, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,000180018501900195020007,333 in 1790Low: 1,155

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1790 and 1810, then grew more than tenfold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

The story

How Ballston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ballston.

Read it all →

The region was first settled around 1763. In 1775, the area became a District in Albany County.

In 1780, Loyalist raiders attacked the northern part of the town and took several prisoners of war to Canada. The area was originally called "Ball's Town" and "Ballton." The town was formed in 1785 while still in Albany County. The original owners of the town were the Mcdonald brothers. Rev. Eliphalet Ball from Bedford, New York bought the area of land from them and called it Ball's Town. Ball also paid the brothers 1 barrel of rum for the right to name the town after himself. Over time the name was shortened to Ballston.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Ballston in 1893

Passages that mention Ballston, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The village of Ballston Spa was incorporated March 21, 1807. It lies mostly in the town of Milton, the shire town of the county, the southern part being in the town of Ballston.
History of Saratoga County, New York1893 · page 168Read the page →
Read the text

The village of Ballston Spa was incorporated March 21, 1807. It lies mostly in the town of Milton, the shire town of the county, the southern part being in the town of Ballston.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
With these notes we close our account of the town of Ballston. In the general history will be found a detailed account of the stirring and tragic incidents which occurred in the town of Ballston during the war of the Revolution.
History of Saratoga County, New York1893 · page 173Read the page →
Read the text

With these notes we close our account of the town of Ballston. In the general history will be found a detailed account of the stirring and tragic incidents which occurred in the town of Ballston during the war of the Revolution.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Ballston, 1809 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1809Born hereJames M. Marvin is born here
  3. 1812Born hereSamuel I. Prime is born here
  4. 1828Post officeThe Ballston Centre post office opens
  5. 1829Post officeThe Burnt Hills post office opens
  6. 1847Born hereJohn Boyd Thacher I is born here
  7. 1848Born hereHamilton K. Wheeler is born here
  8. 1889BuiltVerbeck House is built
  9. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1903Post officeThe Ballston Centre post office closes
  12. 21st century
  13. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 11,831
By decade

Ballston, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
University of the State of New York: origin, history and present organizationDate?University of the State of New York: origin, history …Book
Today13 recent
Farm2021FarmBallston Spa Central Schools2021Ballston Spa Central SchoolsSamuel Young marker2016Samuel Young markerSamuel Davis marker2016Samuel Davis markerJonathan Filer Home marker2016Jonathan Filer Home markerJames Gordon Home marker2016James Gordon Home markerColonial Inn marker2016Colonial Inn markerBettys Tavern marker2016Bettys Tavern markerBallston Church marker2016Ballston Church markerBallston Center marker2016Ballston Center marker1780 Invasion marker20161780 Invasion markerTown of Ballston Marker2015Town of Ballston MarkerBallston Saratoga NY2009Ballston Saratoga NY
On the map

Ballston on the map, 1893 to 1980

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

Ballston on the 1893 USGS mapBallston on the 1930 USGS mapBallston on the 1947 USGS mapBallston on the 1954 USGS mapBallston on the 1980 USGS map1893Schenectady sheet · 1:62,500

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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Ballston

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Verbeck House
Verbeck House, built 1889Calvary Episcopal Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Verbeck HouseQueen Anne · Built 1889
Calvary Episcopal ChurchBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Ballston

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Samuel I. PrimeAmerican clergyman, traveler, and writer · b. 1812
Hamilton K. WheelerAmerican politician · b. 1848
James M. MarvinAmerican politician · b. 1809
John Boyd Thacher IAmerican politician · b. 1847
S
Sidney SherwoodAmerican economist · b. 1860
C
Cyrus BaconAmerican politician · b. 1796
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Clifton Park11 historic placesBCharlton2 historic placesAMalta5 historic placesB+Milton5 historic placesA−Country Knolls2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGlenville7 historic placesA−

Questions about Ballston’s history

How does Ballston rank for history?

Ballston is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #637 of 758 in New York. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Ballston?

Two places: the Verbeck House (listed 1983) and the Calvary Episcopal Church (2017).

How old are the homes in Ballston?

14% of Ballston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1987.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (14), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.