Blue Ball, Pennsylvania

This article is about the place in Lancaster County. For the historic name of a community in Clearfield County, see West Decatur, Pennsylvania.

Not to be confused with Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

Blue Ball is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in East Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. Blue Ball lies approximately 2 miles (3 km) east-northeast of the borough of New Holland at the intersection of US 322 and PA Route 23. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,095.^[4]

Blue Ball
Census-designated place
Along US 322 approaching PA 23
Blue Ball Location in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Blue Ball Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°07′07″N 76°02′50″W
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Lancaster
Township	East Earl
Area [1]
• Total	1.19 sq mi (3.10 km2)
• Land	1.19 sq mi (3.09 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	441 ft (134 m)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	1,084
• Density	907.87/sq mi (350.52/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	17506
Area code	717
FIPS code	42-07208
GNIS feature ID	1169864[3]

Etymology

The name originates from the Blue Ball Hotel, built more than two hundred years ago, which stood on the southeastern corner of the PA 23-US 322 crossroads. The inn was torn down in 1997.^[5] In the early 18th century, John Wallace built a small building in Earl Town at the intersection of two trails created by native Americans, French Creek Path (Route 23) and Paxtang (Route 322). He hung a blue ball out front from a post^[6] and called it "The Sign of the Blue Ball". Locals soon began calling the town "Blue Ball" after the inn. In 1833, Earl Town officially changed its name to Blue Ball. During Prohibition, the inn changed its name to Blue Ball Hotel.^[5]

Name

The town's name has a suggestive second meaning, evoking the slang term "blue balls" (1916), which refers to the sexual condition of temporary testicular and prostate fluid congestion due to prolonged and unsatisfied sexual excitement.^[7] Blue Ball is often listed among the "delightfully-named towns" in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, alongside Pleasureville, Intercourse, Mount Joy, Lititz, Bareville, Bird-in-Hand, Fertility and Paradise.^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

Geography

Blue Ball is in eastern Lancaster County, in the western part of East Earl Township. Pennsylvania Route 23 (Main Street) leads northeast 9 miles (14 km) to the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Morgantown and southwest through New Holland 16 miles (26 km) to Lancaster, the county seat. U.S. Route 322 (Division Highway) crosses PA 23 in the center of Blue Ball; it leads northwest 8 miles (13 km) to Ephrata and southeast 20 miles (32 km) to Downingtown.

Shirks Run which flows through Blue Ball, leading northwest to the Conestoga River. It has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) like the remainder of Lancaster County. Average monthly temperatures range from 30.0 °F in January to 74.6 °F in July. The hardiness zone is 6b.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	1,031		—
2020	1,084		5.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[13][2]