page_title: Ballston, Oregon
hierarchical_section_title: Ballston, Oregon
caption_attribution_description: English: w:Ballston, Oregon
context_page_description: Ballston is an unincorporated community, in Polk County, Oregon, United States. It is southeast of Sheridan and southwest of Amity. It is considered a ghost town.
  Ballston was founded in 1878 by pioneer Isaac Ball on his donation land claim. Ball and his family immigrated from England, and arrived in Oregon via the Oregon Trail in 1848. Ball named the town "Ballsville", and it had a post office of the same name. The name of the post office was changed to Ballston in 1880. The post office was discontinued in 1953 when it became a rural station of Sheridan; it was discontinued all together in 1969.
  Ballston was a station on the Dayton, Sheridan and Grande Ronde Railroad, later the Oregonian Railway. Isaac Ball was an early promoter of the DS&GR when it was originally a narrow gauge railway line. The line changed ownership again to become part of the Southern Pacific Railroad; as of 2009, Ballston is a station of the Portland and Western Railroad.
  In 1915, the community had a population of 104, a public school, two churches, and three fraternal lodges.
context_section_description: Ballston is an unincorporated community, in Polk County, Oregon, United States. It is southeast of Sheridan and southwest of Amity. It is considered a ghost town.
  Ballston was founded in 1878 by pioneer Isaac Ball on his donation land claim. Ball and his family immigrated from England, and arrived in Oregon via the Oregon Trail in 1848. Ball named the town "Ballsville", and it had a post office of the same name. The name of the post office was changed to Ballston in 1880. The post office was discontinued in 1953 when it became a rural station of Sheridan; it was discontinued all together in 1969.
  Ballston was a station on the Dayton, Sheridan and Grande Ronde Railroad (DS&GR), later the Oregonian Railway. Isaac Ball was an early promoter of the DS&GR when it was originally a narrow gauge railway line. The line changed ownership again to become part of the Southern Pacific Railroad; as of 2009, Ballston is a station of the Portland and Western Railroad.
  In 1915, the community had a population of 104, a public school, two churches, and three fraternal lodges.
  The 1855 Ballston School building, no longer in use as a school, is thought to be the oldest school building still standing in Polk County or perhaps the entire state. Ballston County Park is located in the community and includes the school.
  The Ballston Community Club meets in a newer former schoolhouse originally moved from Airlie, another community on the railroad line. The Community Club hosted an annual turkey dinner for many years.
caption: Grain elevator in Ballston
exif: {"Image Make": "PENTAX Corporation", "Image Model": "PENTAX K200D", "Image Software": "K200D Ver 1.00", "Image DateTime": "2008:05:28 15:19:55", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "532", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 0, 33, 0, 1, 0, 22, ... ]", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/180", "EXIF FNumber": "19/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:05:28 15:19:55", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:05:28 15:19:55", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "50", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3872", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2592", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "75", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Hard", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Hard", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "3"}