Born: 15 July 1877, United States
Died: 24 November 1969
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
American architect and educator Agnes Ballard was the first woman to be a registered architect in Florida, and the sixth woman admitted to the American Institute of Architects (the first from Florida) in 1916. She also taught high school geography, biology, chemistry, Latin and mathematics, and was one of the first women elected to a public office, serving as Superintendent of Public Education for Palm Beach County from 1921 to 1925.
After graduating from the Worcester Normal School in 1905, Ballard moved to Michigan to teach, but “I saw so much snow In one season I wanted to go somewhere where I never would see snow again,” and moved to Florida in 1906. Deciding a higher salary was worth the snow, she moved back north a few years later, this time to La Crosse, Wisconsin. While there, she apprenticed at the architectural firm Percy Dwight Bentley, and she continued to study architecture after returning to Florida in 1913. When she was granted architecture license No. 6 in 1914, it was the first one issued beyond the five the licensing board members had issued themselves.
Following the passage of the 19th Amendment granting American women the vote, friends encouraged Ballard to run for County Superintendent of Schools in the 1920 election. She won, and took office on 4 January 1921, leading the district through four “boom years of incredible growth,” but declined to run for re-election.