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History · Blue Ball

Blue Ball’s post office opened in 1833, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: old-book passages.

1833first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: Andrew Bossi · CC BY-SA 2.5
Quick answers

How Blue Ball began

When was Blue Ball founded?

1833

The Blue Ball post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,084193 years
Founding year: the first Blue Ball post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Blue Ball’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 Blue Ball are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1833: 193 years of Blue Ball.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Blue Ball’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Blue Ball, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Blue Ball yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Blue Ball is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in East Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. Blue Ball lies approximately 2 miles (3 km) east-northeast of the borough of New Holland at the intersection of US 322 and PA Route 23. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,095.

Its first post office opened in 1833. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,031 to 1,084 (+5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Blue Ball in 1883

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

Blue Ball is a settlement at tlie junction of the Old Paxtang and Horseslioe roads. It has at present a post-oflice and a few dwellings. The land on which it is located was part of the large tract taken up by the AVeavers. On the 27th of August, 1766, Robert Wallace purchased twelve acres of Jacob …
History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania1883Read the page →
Read the text

Blue Ball is a settlement at tlie junction of the Old Paxtang and Horseslioe roads. It has at present a post-oflice and a few dwellings. The land on which it is located was part of the large tract taken up by the AVeavers. On the 27th of August, 1766, Robert Wallace purchased twelve acres of Jacob Weaver.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Two important roads, laid out prior to 17C2, traverse the township north and south nearly parallel to each other. One leads from the Blue Ball through the village of Bowmansville, since 1833 known as the State road ; the other leads from the present village of Fairville (Terre Hill P. O.), past the…
History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania1883Read the page →
Read the text

Two important roads, laid out prior to 17C2, traverse the township north and south nearly parallel to each other. One leads from the Blue Ball through the village of Bowmansville, since 1833 known as the State road ; the other leads from the present village of Fairville (Terre Hill P. O.), past the Dry Tavern (Muddy Creek P. O.), to Adamstown. Both these ancient roads are crossed — the former at Bowmans-

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.

By decade

Blue Ball, decade by decade

Today6 recent
0902 - Blue Ball - SR23@US32220080902 - Blue Ball - SR23@US3220901 - Blue Ball - SR23@US32220080901 - Blue Ball - SR23@US3220900 - Blue Ball - SR23@US32220080900 - Blue Ball - SR23@US3220899 - Hinkletown - SR23@US32220080899 - Hinkletown - SR23@US3222007 09 18 - Blue Ball - US 322 at SR 23 b20072007 09 18 - Blue Ball - US 322 at SR 23 b2007 09 18 - Blue Ball - US 322 at SR 23 a20072007 09 18 - Blue Ball - US 322 at SR 23 a
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East Earl Township3 historic placesBEarl Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Blue Ball’s history

What year was Blue Ball founded?

The Blue Ball post office opened in 1833, 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 →
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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 (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people 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.