Balltown, Washington Parish, Louisiana: A Ball Family Settlement
Historical note and archival transcription
Editorial Note
This article is based on a user-supplied archival transcription. Spelling, punctuation, and paragraphing have been modernized for readability while preserving the account’s meaning. The source excerpt is incomplete, and its statements should be verified against the original records cited below.
Source and Provenance
A 1986 letter from the Louisiana Secretary of State, Archives and Records Service, reported that the following description of Balltown came from Alcee Fortier’s Louisiana. The letter stated that no additional material concerning Balltown was located in the state collection.
“Balltown: A post-hamlet in the extreme northeastern corner of Washington Parish, near the Pearl River and about four miles northeast of Angie, the nearest railroad station.”
Location and Early Settlement
Balltown occupied Section 51 (formerly Section 19), Township 1 South, Range 14 East, in Washington Parish, Louisiana. James Foster filed on and settled this section in 1812. The settlement stood where the old Federal Road crossed Foster Creek.
The small business center reportedly included a main dwelling, quarters for enslaved people, a cotton gin, a gristmill, and a general store that housed the post office. Perhaps a dozen single-wall residences were scattered nearby.
Post Office and Relocation to Angie
The U.S. Post Office Department established a post office during the early 1870s. According to the supplied account, the name Balltown was selected because many people named Ball lived in the surrounding area.
When a railroad was built in 1906 along what became Highway 35, it passed about three miles from Balltown. The community’s businesses and post office relocated to the railroad, and the post office name was changed to Angie.
The Federal Road Setting
Regional travel depended on the Federal Road. On 27 November 1813, General Andrew Jackson and his staff stayed at the home of Rev. John Ford while traveling from Mobile toward New Orleans. They resumed their journey south on the Federal Road on 28 November.
Lieutenant Tatum, assigned to record population, roads, buildings, crops, waterways, soils, vegetation, and other conditions, reportedly noted active construction in the region. The supplied transcription ends at this point.
Sources and Verification Notes
Louisiana Secretary of State, Archives and Records Service, letter, 1986.
Alcee Fortier, Louisiana (exact volume and page not supplied).
Lieutenant Tatum journal (full citation not supplied).
User-supplied archival transcription.
Research Note
Exact citations, the post office establishment date, and other historical details should be verified before being treated as final conclusions.