Ballard

Adapted from “About Ballard,” accessed April 9, 2020; Dorris Karren Burton,  A History of Uintah County: Scratching the Surface. Salt Lake City: Utah Historical Society, 1996

Ballard’s history as a settlement began in 1905, when the Uintah Ute settlement in the Uintah basin was opened for white settlement. Ballard (originally Wilson-Ballard) was established as one of the predominantly Latter-day Saint settlements in the area, so church structure and activities were major aspects of life in the settlement.

Ballard’s location along US highway 40 has facilitated a mixed growth in the area, consisting of agricultural, residential, and open area properties. Historically, most of the residents of Ballard did their shopping in the neighboring towns. Ballard has ridden the boom and bust of the extraction energy, but has recently started to grow, with its population up to a little over a thousand, up from around 650 in the 1990s.