Robert Ball Sr., patriarch of one branch of the far-flung Ball family, lived a life that bookended two momentous events. He was born in November 1776, a mere four months after the Declaration of Independence was signed, and died in May 1861, just a month after the attack on Fort Sumter ushered in the Civil War.
Ball’s wife Ann (1781-1864) shares his resting place and grave marker, and other family members – interred throughout the 19th century – also are found there.
The Ball family, which gave its name to the Ballston community, in the 1920s donated land for construction of what would become Central United Methodist Church, with the proviso that the graveyard be maintained in perpetuity. When plans for tearing down the church and building affordable housing were first announced, quiet efforts seemed to be taking place to have the remains moved elsewhere, but county officials ultimately decreed that the site of the graves would become a local historic district and protected for the future.
The Robert Ball Sr. Burial Ground was designated a local historic district in 2017 and is one of seven cemeteries in Arlington to have received the designation. Two more of them also are connected to the Ball family: the Ball Family Burial Grounds on Washington Boulevard, which was designated historic in 1978, and the Ball-Carlin Cemetery on South Kensington Street in Glencarlyn, which also received historic designation in 1978.
THE CACHE IS NOT IN THE STREET
THE CACHE IS NOT BEHIND THE FENCE
BYOP and please use stealth.
Have fun and be safe!