Early history and settlement The area that encompasses Ball Ground was originally inhabited by both the
Cherokee and the
Muscogee Creek, until the
Battle of Taliwa, which took place in what later became Ball Ground in 1755, between the Cherokee and the Muscogee Creek, ending with a Cherokee victory and forcing the Creek out of the territory. Following the passing of the
Indian Removal Act in 1830, the Cherokee were slowly relocated out of Cherokee County, including the Ball Ground area. The name Ball Ground was initially given by settlers to refer to an area of land, not for the town or community.
Native Americans would use the area as a
ballground to play a game similar to
town ball, and settlers named the town Ball Ground in reference to this. Over time details were added to the story of why the town was named Ball Ground. One such story was that the site was so named because it was the location of a 1532 game of ball between Native Americans playing against
Hernando de Soto and his men, in a game umpired by the owner of the
Fountain of Youth. When a fight broke out during the game, the umpire was killed, taking the secret of the location of the Fountain of Youth with him. Another story attested as "local folklore" by the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce says that the site is named Ball Ground because of a game of
stickball played between the Cherokee and Creek "for the prize of a thousand square miles of land". After acquisition from the Cherokee in the 1830s, Ball Ground was originally settled as farmland and had few people living in the area. In 1882, just before the town was established, Ball Ground had six homes and two
country stores. Meetings were held in 1875 in various areas including Ball Ground to discuss the possibility of a railroad being built through Ball Ground and other nearby areas. In 1881 work began on a railroad to Ball Ground using
chain gangs for labor and
grading on the railroad's path was completed in Ball Ground that same year. The resulting track was part of the
Marietta and North Georgia Railroad and was completed in 1882. Upon completion the
terminus of the railroad was the newly constructed
depot in Ball Ground. A town was built around the Ball Ground depot using surrounding land that was donated by thirteen nearby landowners for the express purpose of establishing a town. The deed of transfer to the railroad company noted that “The consideration moving each of us in the establishing of this town is the enhanced value to our lands within and adjacent to the said town, and the general benefit to the country, by which we shall be benefited.” The next year in 1884, the town had approximately 300 residents.
Incorporation as a town Ball Ground was
incorporated as a town by
town charter on September 27, 1883, by an act of the
Georgia General Assembly. The town limits were set as "one half mile in every direction from the present railroad crossing on the Gilmer Ferry road; that it shall be known and distinguished as the town of Ball Ground." In January 1896 a judge approved the sale of the Marietta and North Georgia railroad to the Atlanta, Knoxville, and Northern railway due to nonpayment of loans by the former railroad. The property to be sold included the depots along the railroad route which included the Ball Ground depot. The plaintiffs in the case were those owed money by the railroad and gave loans that were taken out to charter the railroad, but the scheduled April 1896 sale of the railroad was subsequently delayed through the courts by order of the same judge that initially approved the sale. That same month the Marietta and North Georgia railroad missed their payment deadline and the sale moved forward. On November 1, 1896, the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad was purchased by and turned over to the Atlanta, Knoxville, and Northern railway. Atlanta, Knoxville, and Northern was sold to the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1902. An amendment to the town's charter was passed in 1903 to change the election times, clarifying the issuance of liquor licenses and set a price for said license at "not less than $500". The amendment also clarified how
ad valorem taxes were to be collected. A further amendment in 1905 changed the 1903 amendment's $500 liquor license fee to $5,000. An updated charter passed by an act of the Georgia General Assembly in 1911 greatly expanded the powers of the municipal government, including the ability to pass municipal ordinances, and established a school district within Ball Ground. In 1961 a Ball Ground Improvement Association was formed to add improvements to the city including new paint, a city park, and street lights.
Revitalization A television documentary aired in December 1971 on North Georgia's Channel 11 that focused on the city of Ball Ground and described it as a city in decline, and interviewed Ball Grounders about "the slow deterioration of the town." Two weeks after the broadcast of the documentary, the city's merchants announced that they had organized the Ball Ground Merchants Association to promote trade and to function as a Chamber of Commerce for the city. The Ball Ground Community Association was formed in early 1972 to promote the town and to organize festivals and cultural events. The first event the association organized was the May 1972 spring festival and parade, which included a delegation from the Cherokee Nation. This marked the first time the Cherokee returned to the area in any official capacity since they were removed from the area during the 1830s. As part of the festival, two Cherokee teams played a game of stickball against one another, and then-Lieutenant Governor
Lester Maddox served as the parade's
grand marshal. Later that year in November 1972, in part because of the festival and other improvements to the city, Ball Ground won the "1972 Stay & See Georgia" contest, which was a program designed to help highlight and expand tourism within the State of Georgia. The spring festival was held annually until 1989. In 1997 developers began building new homes and communities within Ball Ground. Because of the growth of the city, residents and city officials began discussing the need for an improved sewer system to help modernize the septic systems of older homes and to attract new growth for the city. In 1998 a plan was put in place to begin work on a $2.8 million sewage system. The sewage system was completed in Fall 2003 amid ongoing development in and around Ball Ground. ==Geography==