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Ballinger ( ) is a city in Runnels County,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, United States. The population was 3,619 at the 2020 census. It is the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Runnels County. Downtown Ballinger features historic 1800s buildings with shops and restaurants.


History

Ballinger was founded in 1886. It was established when the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway built a railway west from Brownwood. Runnels City, the original county seat, campaigned for selection as the new railroad terminal, but the future site of Ballinger, five miles to the south, offered a better water supply. The 1.7-square-mile area was laid out in large lots, with a courthouse square and public park set aside for future use. Santa Fe officials offered free property to anyone who would move a home from Runnels City to Ballinger and to any church that would erect a building. The town was named in honor of William Pitt Ballinger, a
Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
attorney and stockholder of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe. Ballinger was incorporated in 1892. In 1911, Ballinger opened the Ballinger Carnegie Library, built with funds donated by
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
. By 1975, the building was in disrepair. The Ballinger Bicentennial Committee organized a renovation effort, and the library was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.


Geography

Ballinger is located in the transition zone from the Edwards Plateau to the Texas Southern Plains region of West Texas. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.06%, is covered by water. Ballinger is about south of Abilene.Glenn, Mike.
Fort Bend publisher dies of cancer at 72
" ''
Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...
''. July 8, 2013. Retrieved on April 7, 2014.


Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Ballinger has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
, ''Cfa'' on climate maps.Climate Summary for Ballinger, Texas
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Demographics


2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,619 people, 1,449 households, and 860 families residing in the city.


2000 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, 4,243 people, 1,578 households, and 1,093 families resided the city. The population density was . The 1,879 housing units averaged 560.9 per square mile (216.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 79.68% White, 2.14% African American, 0.71% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 14.52% from other races, and 2.50% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 31.28% of the population. Of 1,578 households, 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were not families. About 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and family size was 3.10. In the city, the population was distributed as 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $26,129, and for a family was $31,393. Males had a median income of $24,207 versus $18,951 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $11,917. About 14.3% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 25.0% of those age 65 or over.


Education

The city is served by the Ballinger Independent School District and is home to the Ballinger High School Bearcats.


Notable people

* David W. Guion, a widely performed classical composer and arranger of American folk music * Hal Underwood, a professional golfer, won the
European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...


Sports

Ballinger was home of the
minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...
team the Ballinger Cats from the 1920s to its disbandment in the late 1950s. They were affiliated with the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
from 1947 to 1950, as well with the bygone St. Louis Browns in the 1930s and early 1940s.


Notable Areas

* The Olde Park Hotel is reported as haunted. According to one of the previous owners, Jeanette Findlay has identified 30 beings present in the hotel. The hotel's reputation has resulted in it appearing in
paranormal television Paranormal television is a genre of reality television that purports to document factual investigations of the paranormal rather than fictional representations seen in traditional narrative films and TV. Over the years, the genre has grown to be ...
programming. As recent as 2019, it was visited by paranormal investigator and actor
Chad Lindberg Chad Tyler Lindberg (born November 1, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his film roles in '' The Fast and the Furious'' and '' October Sky'', as well as television roles on ''Sons of Anarchy'' and ''Supernatural''. Lindberg was also the ...
. The hotel is to be featured in the
Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...
television show ''Fright Club'', hosted by
Jack Osbourne Jack Joseph Osbourne (born 8 November 1985) is a British-American media personality. He is the son of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne. He starred on MTV's reality series '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2005), along with his ...
. * The Ballinger Park is a 55 acre Park on the north and east shores of Lake Ballinger. This park houses a multipurpose sport complex, the Mickey Corso Community Clubhouse, a 42 acre natural park area and a boat launch. The sports complex consists of a full length multipurpose sports field used for baseball, softball and soccer. The playground amenities include two play structures and picnic tables. The natural park area is a former nine-hole golf course converted to a natural area with nature trails, ponds, hall creek and is adjacent to the Interurban Trail to the west and the Lakeview Trail to the east. A Master Plan for this area of the park was adopted in 2015.


Gallery

Image:Runnels County Building Ballinger.jpg, County Building Image:U.S. Post Office Ballinger.jpg, Historic post office in Ballinger, Texas Image:Texas Theater Ballinger.jpg, Texas Theater Image:Downtown Ballinger 2.jpg, Downtown Ballinger Image:Downtown Ballinger 1.jpg, Downtown Ballinger Image:Ballinger City Hall.jpg, City Hall Image:Carnigie Library Ballinger.jpg, Carnigie Library Ballinger


References


External links


City of Ballinger official websiteEntry for William P. Ballinger
for whom Ballinger was named, from th
''Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas''
published 1880, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
* {{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Runnels County, Texas County seats in Texas