Person

Alice Ballard

two people sitting outside of a house
John Ballard Homestead with two women out front, presumably Alice Ballard and Francis Brigs Ballard

unknown

Quick Facts
Significance:
One of the earliest female African American homesteaders in California
Place of Birth:
Los Angeles, California
Date of Birth:
1869
Place of Death:
Los Angeles County, California
Date of Death:
10 November 1937

Alice Ballard, a black woman, successfully homesteaded near Los Angeles, California at the beginning of the 20th century. Her success in a time of rampant racism and difficult socioeconomic conditions makes her story one of great importance.

Ballard was born in Los Angeles, California in 1869 to formerly enslaved parents - John and Amanda Ballard. John is reported to have come to California from Kentucky. Amanda came from Texas. Alice was the youngest of seven children. She was only two years old when her mother died in May of 1871. John married Francis Briggs, a widow from Arkansas in 1879.

Much of what is known about Ballard stems from Patricia Colman’s in-depth research into Alice Ballard’s father – John Ballard. Austin Ringelstein, an anthropologist for the National Park Service, has also researched Alice Ballard’s life. His project focuses on the history and heritage of African Americans in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Alice and her family lived in downtown Los Angeles during most of her childhood. Colman’s research indicates that the Ballard family enjoyed some economic success through the 1860’s. However, by the early 1870’s their financial situation had worsened. Economic and social conditions seemingly pushed John Ballard to purchase land in the rural San Fernando Township section of the Santa Monica Mountains near Los Angeles, CA, and relocate his family. When she was 11, they moved west and staked a claim to a homestead in a remote area of the mountains above the Malibu coastline near what is now called Ballard Mountain.

In 1888, Alice established her own homestead on a site northwest of her father’s property. Alice Ballard successfully homesteaded and secured a patent for 160 acres of land in San Fernando Township in California in 1901. The fact that a woman - a Black woman - staked a claim to owning 160 acres of land is notable for several reasons. It was rare for a single woman to own property and the work that went into establishing a homestead was no simple task. Alice owned property around the turn of the century when 85% of African-American women worked as domestic laborers.

In Ballard’s patent application, she stated that she had lived on the property for 12 years. By the time Alice was formally granted her own homestead patent in 1901, she had cultivated fruit trees and vines, she had constructed a one-room log house with fencing, and she had cleared 10 to 15 acres. The 1900 census lists Alice Ballard as a nurse. Researchers theorize that she was a midwife for local families. 

Ballard had two children when she acquired her property in May 1901 – Lyman, age 7 and George age 2. It is not clear who was the father of the children. Within months of securing her patent, she married Warner Bonnettio, a man of Moroccan descent in August of 1901.

Ballard (now Bonettio) sold her property in 1903 for a mere $10 and moved back to Los Angeles County where she resided with her husband. There she gave birth to three more children: Mary, Theodore, and Fred. The record is not clear on why she sold the property at such a loss. Ringelstein theorizes that Ballard may have sold the property because of the economic impact of a 1903 fire that destroyed many homes in the area. The fire may have destroyed her cabin as well.

Alice (Ballard) Bonettio died in Los Angeles County on November 10, 1937, at the age of 67. She was by then a widow living with her daughter, granddaughter, and a boarder. The details of her husband’s death are unclear.

The full account of Alice (Ballard) Bonettio’s life remains to be told. But the record makes a particular fact quite clear: the pioneering Alice Ballard blazed a trail for others to follow.

Learn more about Black Homesteading in America.

Sources:

Researched by Paul Dice, Volunteer. Edited by NPS.

Homestead National Historical Park, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

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Last updated: November 2, 2021