Editing Ballinger, Texas (section)

==History==
Ballinger was founded in 1886. It was established when the [[Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway]] built a railway west from [[Brownwood, Texas|Brownwood]]. Runnels City, the original county seat, campaigned for selection as the new railroad terminal, but the future site of Ballinger, five miles to the south, offered a better water supply.<ref name=TexasHandbook>{{Cite web |title=Ballinger, TX |last=Pinkney |first=Kathryn |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |work=Handbook of Texas |access-date=1 January 2024 |url= https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ballinger-tx }}</ref>

The 1.7-square-mile area was laid out in large lots, with a courthouse square and public park set aside for future use. Santa Fe officials offered free property to anyone who would move a home from Runnels City to Ballinger and to any church that would erect a building.<ref name=TexasHandbook/>

The town was named in honor of [[William Pitt Ballinger]], a [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]] attorney and stockholder of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe.<ref name=TexasHandbook/>

Ballinger was incorporated in 1892.<ref name=TexasHandbook/>

In 1911, Ballinger opened the [[Ballinger Carnegie Library]], built with funds donated by [[Andrew Carnegie]]. By 1975, the building was in disrepair. The Ballinger Bicentennial Committee organized a renovation effort, and the library was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name=TexasHandbook/>