Many of us in Cymru will have been to Bala before. As kids, we would go on school trips to the lake and partake in outdoor activities there. It’s a vibrant and lively place full of fun! What if I told you that there exists another Bala – named after the Welsh town – and it is a ghost town? Here is a post on Bala, Kansas!

Bala, Kansas, was named after the Welsh Bala, a charming market town in Gogledd Cymru. Settlers who arrived in the region sought to preserve a piece of their homeland by giving their new community this familiar name.

It all began when Reverend R. Gwesyn Jones and James Hughes Jenkins arrived in the town and bought a considerable piece of land in 1870, with the purpose to eastablish a Welsh settlement. This was mainly because many Welshmen were already evicted from their farms by Tory landlords.

By 1870, Welsh immigrants were drawn to the fertile plains of Kansas, where they hoped to establish new lives in the heart of America. Both Jones and Jenkins worked together to establish the settlement, which was first named as Y Bala yn Powys, (named for a town in North Wales). 23 Welsh natives had already settled in it.

Bala, Kansas, flourished in its early years, with the town being served by a post office, schools, and a strong sense of community. The Welsh settlers maintained their customs, language, and traditions in their new surroundings.

“We have now in Y Bala only six homes, a store, an office, and a smithy already established, but there are two or three places already started, and the town hall, which will be intended for the use of the public and for religious services.” 

—Rowland Davies, an appointed postmaster, July 1871

Back then, both Welsh and English churches were formed, along with other businesses such as a cheese factory, a general store, hotel, shoe-shop, and blacksmith shop.

As the years passed, the fortunes of Bala, Kansas, began to wane. It started with the town getting hit by a tornado in 1903, followed by great depression that washed away more than half of the population living there, reaching upto only a 100 people alive.

By the mid-20th century, the town had become a ghost town, with many of its buildings standing empty. To this day, it remains an eerily quiet ghost town, occupied by less than 30 inhabitants.

Despite its ghost town status, Bala, Kansas, remains an echo of the Welsh-American experience. The descendants of the original Welsh settlers continue to honor their heritage, and the town’s history is preserved for future generations. Despite this, there is no denying the colossal change in Bala’s fortunes.

Bala’s history is an evidence of the connect between Wales and its Welsh-American diaspora.

Visitors suggest that it is not an easy town to pursue sightseeing. “Bala is tough to get to, because Bala Road in western Riley county doesn’t even pass through the town! You have to drive south on Jenkins Road after taking Bala Road about 1.5 miles west of K-82 to get there. The first thing you notice upon reaching the old town is an old church, sitting vacant just off the road. The rest of town consists of a handful of houses spread across tow city blocks just south of the church. No visible remains of a downtown are noticeable. Current population is about 10. ”

Today, the only remains one can expect out of the town are: An abandoned church, a small handful of houses, some occupied, some abandoned.

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Sally George

Sally is a proud wife of a Welshman, editor & writer of Welsh Histories. She’s all about stories—that shout ‘anything Welsh.’ Drop her an email if you have an advice, insight, experience, or a story to share.