Abandoned Record
About Ballard
Ballard was a small village located between Chenoa and Lexington, Illinois, on the Union Pacific railroad.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Ballard, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.
Map
Where Ballard is
Historic maps
8 historic USGS maps cover Ballard
Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.
- 1926 Normal sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1930 Normal sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1958 Peoria sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1961 Peoria sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1963 Peoria sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1981 Lexington sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1985 Fairbury sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1990 Peoria sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
Directions
Getting there
Before you go
- Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
- Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
- Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.
Nearby
Other sites near Ballard
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Illinois index.
Sources
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Ballard, Illinois": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q111911944.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).