View source for William Rankin Ballard

{{Short description|American banker and land developer}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
[[Image:W. R. Ballard 1890.jpg|thumb|W. R. Ballard circa 1890]]
Captain '''William Rankin Ballard''' (August 12, 1847 – February 4, 1929) was a [[Seattle]] pioneer, banker,<ref>[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jtenlen/wrballard.txt ''An Illustrated History of the State of Washington''], Hines, Rev. H.K., pp.453–454, accessed November 1, 2008</ref> and land developer.<ref>[http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/ballard_history.htm Ballard Avenue], Department of Neighborhoods, Seattle, Washington. Accessed May 23, 2008.</ref> He was one of the founders of the city of [[Ballard, Seattle, Washington|Ballard, Washington]] (incorporated in 1890) which was later annexed to the growing city of Seattle, Washington in 1907.<ref>[http://www.ballardchamber.com/ballard.shtml History of Ballard], Ballard Chamber of Commerce.Accessed online May 23, 2008.</ref> As acting manager of the Seattle National Bank in the early 1890s, he facilitated the construction of what is now known as the [[Interurban Building (Seattle)|Interurban Building]] in the [[Pioneer Square, Seattle|Pioneer Square]] neighborhood.<ref>{{cite news |title=Seattle National Bank: A Strong Financial Institution Open for Business |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045604/1890-02-19/ed-1/seq-5/#date1=1777&sort=date&date2=1963&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn83045604&lccn=sn83045611&index=1&words=bank+National+Seattle&proxdistance=5&state=Washington&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=seattle+national+bank&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 |access-date=March 10, 2021 |work=The Seattle Post-Intelligencer |via=Chronicling America |date=February 19, 1890}}</ref>

William Rankin Ballard was born to Levi Ward Ballard (founder of [[Auburn, Washington]]<ref>[http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=388 ''Auburn beginnings: Slaughter Post Office opens on January 21, 1867''], HistoryLink.org, Accessed November 1, 2008</ref>) and Phoebe Anne McConnell<ref name=Rootsweb>[http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/BALLARD/1998-02/0887204025 BALLARD-L Archives], Rootsweb. Accessed online May 23, 2008.</ref> August 12, 1847. He married Estella Thorndike on November 12, 1882 in Seattle,<ref name=Rootsweb /> and died in Seattle February 4, 1929.

The title Captain derives from his command of the boat [[Zephyr (steamboat)|''Zephyr'']]<ref>Walt Crowley, [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=983 Seattle Neighborhoods: Ballard – Thumbnail History], HistoryLink, March 31, 1999. Accessed online May 23, 2008.</ref> that operated between Seattle and [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]] to the south.

[[Ballard High School (Seattle, Washington)|Ballard High School]] was named for Capt. Ballard.

==References==
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{{Mosquito Fleet}}
{{Steamboats Pacific Northwest}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, William Rankin}}
[[Category:1847 births]]
[[Category:1929 deaths]]
[[Category:History of Seattle]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Seattle]]
[[Category:Maritime history of Washington (state)]]


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[[Category:19th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:People from Perrysburg, Ohio]]