Schoenersville is named after its
original settler, Adam Schoener, who established a farm in the area that would become the village in 1784. Adam's father, Heinrich, migrated to America in 1717, having been born in
Ehrstadt,
Baden-Württemberg. The area would be opened to settlers with the opening of a tavern named the "Blue Ball," either for its no vacancy sign, or for a
stagecoach signal. Adam and his wife would build a brick house near Christ's Church, the oldest religious structure in Hanover township. There are conflicting reports to the Blue Ball's origins, either being established by Adam in 1794, or by a Jacob Clader in 1776, before being sold to Adam in 1791, regardless, the Blue Ball was an important midway stop for travelers from
Mauch Chunk to
Philadelphia and would be inherited by Adam's son, Thomas Schoener, after Adam died in 1849, before selling the property in 1852.
The Allentown Democrat reported that the Blue Ball was razed on April 29, 1896, by one E.R. Benner, the village's
Recorder of Deeds, who planned to build a family home on the property. However, the local Schoenersville Inn claimed to be the original Blue Ball following a purported sale in 1830, and remained open until 1988. ==Geography==