The Ball brothers were the founders of the Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Business which eventually became Ball Corporation. They greatly improved the quality of life of Muncie, Indiana through their philanthropy and business. They were instrumental in the creation of Ball State University, and Ball Memorial Hospital, and Minnetrista, a museum in Muncie. Included in the Minnetrista Heritage Collection are a large archival collection documenting the family and business, approximately 1,000 Ball fruit jars, and other Ball products.
The Ball family's legacy continues today through the Ball Brothers Foundation and the George and Frances Ball Foundation, both located in Muncie, Indiana.
From oldest to youngest, the Ball Brothers were:
Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company (Ball Corporation) was founded by Frank C. and Edmund B. Ball, who borrowed $200 from their uncle George Ball to buy the Wooden Jacket Can Company of Buffalo, New York. Within a few years, they added glass production to the business and, in 1884, produced their first fruit jar. To take advantage of the abundance of natural gas in East Central Indiana, the brothers built a factory in Muncie, Indiana in 1887. Over the course of the next ten years the brothers closed the factory in Buffalo and they all moved to Muncie, Indiana.
In 1998, Ball Corporation headquarters moved to Broomfield, Colorado.
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