| Blue Ball | |
|---|---|
| — Unincorporated community — | |
| Along US 322 approaching PA 23 | |
|
Blue Ball
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Lancaster |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | |
| FIPS code | |
| GNIS feature ID | |
Blue Ball is an unincorporated community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania near 40°N 76°W. Blue Ball lies approximately 2 miles east-northeast of the town of New Holland, Pennsylvania at the intersection of US 322 and PA Route 23.
Contents |
The name originates from the Blue Ball Hotel, which stood on the southeast corner of the PA 23-US 322 crossroads. The inn is no longer standing; it was torn down in 1997 after more than 200 years [1] In the early 18th century, John Wallace, an Irishman, built a small building at the intersection of two Indian trails - French Creek Path (Route 23) and Paxtang (Route 322). He hung a blue ball out front and called it "The Sign of the Blue Ball." Locals began calling Earl Town Blue Ball, after the inn. So in 1833, Earl Town officially changed its name to Blue Ball. Years later during Prohibition, the inn changed its name to Blue Ball Hotel.[1] Coincidentally, the town of Blue Ball is situated approximately 8 miles northeast of the town of Intercourse, PA.
The name is often considered sexually suggestive, for its closeness to the slang term "blue balls" (1916), which refers to the male sexual condition of temporary testicular and prostate fluid congestion, due to prolonged and unsatisfied sexual excitement.[2] In 1962, the postmaster of the town, along with that of Intercourse, Pennsylvania, was asked by the publishers of the Eros Magazine for mailing privileges.[3] Intercourse and Blue Ball are often named in lists of "delightfully-named towns" in Pennsylvania Dutchland, along with Mount Joy, Lititz, Bareville, Bird-in-Hand and Paradise.[4][5][6][7][8]
...in such delightfully-named towns in Pennsylvania Dutchland as his native Mount Joy, and neighboring Lititz, Blue Ball, Bareville, Intercourse, Bird in Hand, and Paradise.
"...but anyone who names their towns Mount Joy, Intercourse, and Blue Ball can't be all bad. Obviously they have more on their minds than just religion."
Which brings us to Intercourse. You can imagine my delight when I found out that the Amish call the town of Intercourse, Pennsylvania, their home. There seems to be a lot of explanations from locals trying to pass off the name as a bastardisation of 'Enter Course' and so on, but seeing as there are other local towns called Blue Ball, Bird In Hand, and Mount Joy, I suspect that the person responsible had a very juvenile sense of humour. The town sits in upstate Pennsylvania and is a tourist trap for anyone even remotely curious about the Amish way of life.
In the years since then many of these names have been changed to more elegant ones,2 and others have vanished with the ghost towns they adorned, but not a few still hang on. Indeed, there are plenty of lovely specimens to match them in the East, in regions that were also frontier in their days, e.g., the famous cluster in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania: Bird in Hand, Bareville, Blue Ball, Mt. Joy, Intercourse and Paradise.