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Happy 135 Birthday, Ball Ground

Ball Ground, Georgia — what a great place to live, work, and play! Some like to call this beautiful town the next best thing to the fictional town of Mayberry.On September 27, 1883, the General Assembly of the State of Georgia signed Law No. 401 to incorporate the town of Ball Ground in Cherokee County, which stated, “From and after the passage of this Act, the corporate limits of the town of Ball Ground, Cherokee County, Georgia, shall extend one-half mile in every direction from the present railroad crossing on Gilmer Ferry Road; that it shall be known and distinguished as the town of Ball Ground.”

The Law continued on to convey that, “The government of said town shall be vested in a mayor and five councilmen, to be elected twenty days after the passage of this Act, after giving ten days’ notice in as many as three public places in said town; said mayor and councilmen to be elected annually thereafter on the first Saturday in January; said election to be held and managed by one justice of the peace and two freeholders, and the persons receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared duly elected. The managers of said election shall give certificates of such election to the persons receiving the highest number of votes, which shall be their authority to act.”

So, in January 1884, Captain Patterson H. Lyon was elected mayor. Dr. A.M.F. Hawkins, W.A. Hayes, R.J. Boling, and J. H. Kirby were elected to serve as councilmen, and J. N. Purcell was elected marshal.

Because some years ago many permanent records of the city were destroyed, it would be difficult to discover who or how many mayors or council members have served Ball Ground since Law No. 401 was passed. The earliest book of recorded minutes is dated January 6, 1913 through December 7, 1924. The minutes of 1925 and 1926 are missing as well as 1935-1959.

Ball Ground has certainly come a long way in the past 135 years. If you have visited recently, you know that the corporate limits now extend more than the one-half mile in every direction from the present railroad crossing on Gilmer Ferry Road. Today, the City of Ball Ground covers over six square miles. We have a mayor and five council members who are second to none. A. R. (Rick) Roberts, III has served a total of 27 years as mayor of the City of Ball Ground. According to available records, he is Ball Ground’s longest serving mayor. Under his leadership and the fine group of men and women who have served as council members, Ball Ground has flourished and is certainly “The Place to Be!”

The Ball Ground Historical Society under the leadership of President Nancy Sosebee Madden will be planning a special event later this year to commemorate the City’s 135th Birthday! The Historical Society meets at 7:00pm on the fourth Tuesday of each month at Ball Ground City Hall. You’re invited to join the Society in honoring, protecting, and encouraging the preservation of Ball Ground’s history and heritage.

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