Seattle annexes Ballard on May 29, 1907.

See Additional Media

On May 29, 1907, the City of Ballard ceases to exist when it is annexed to Seattle, adding a new neighborhood to the northwest as well as 17,000 people to Seattle's population.

The vote to annex had passed by 996 to 874 on November 6, 1906, following Ballard's increasing difficulties in keeping its services abreast of a growing population. Particularly problematic was the water supply. 

On the day the City ceased to exist, the Ballard City Hall was draped in black crepe, and the flag on the city flag pole hung at half mast.

Ballard had incorporated in 1890.


Sources:

Walt Crowley, National Trust Guide Seattle (New York: Preservation Press, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998); Myra Phelps, Public Works in Seattle: A Narrative History The Engineering Department 1875-1975 (Seattle: Seattle Engineering Department, 1978), 222; Passport to Ballard: The Centennial Story ed. by Kay Reinartz (Seattle: Ballard News Tribune, 1988), 64; Jeannie Yandel, "What Are Seattle's Urban Legends (And Are They True)?" KUOW website accessed March 5, 2015 (http://kuow.org/post/what-are-seattles-urban-legends-and-are-they-true).
Note: This essay was corrected on March 5, 2015, to delete the assertion (oft-repeated, but with no support in the record) that a dead horse was found in a Ballard reservoir.


Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided By: The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins | Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry | 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle | City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private Sponsors and Visitors Like You