The Story
Why is this place called Ballston, Virginia and how did it come to be?
In Colonial times, the intersection of what would become Glebe Road and Wilson Boulevard was filled with commercial traffic, heading south to Alexandria or east to Washington. John Ball, George Washington's cousin, acquired parts of the Breckin land patent, which granted him a vast acreage in the area.
In 1774, John Ball's descendants built a tavern at the crossroads to serve farmers traveling the roads to take their goods to market. Ball’s Tavern grew to become the center of the community. At times it served as a social hub, a general store, a post office, and a local voting precinct. The area soon became known as Ball's Crossroads.
Ball’s Crossroads was established as a village in Arlington County in 1874. A little over two decades later, the official name was changed to Ballston.