
A large blue ball gave this old inn its name. Built in 1811 by farmer John Koch, the tavern was frequently filled to capacity during the War of 1812 when travel increased on the Carlisle-Sunbury Pike. After the tavern closed in 1841, it was converted into a private residence. The two-and-one-half-story frame building on a stone foundation is a five-bay Georgian house with chimneys on the gable ends and a central entrance with a transom. A porch across the first story sheltered guests as they entered the central hallway, where a staircase led up to the sleeping loft. The tavern now houses the Darlington Museum and the Holman Research Library of the Perry County Historical Society. At opposite corners of the tavern, two springhouses were built over sulfur springs.