There are many communities in the country which grew from a useful geographical feature. Balch Springs, TX is so named because of natural springs. John M. Balch settled in this area south of Mesquite in 1879, although settlers had already made homesteads in the neighborhood. It just so happened that Balch’s land became known for its springs, one of which ran all year round.

After Balch and his family relocated to another place, the name he incidentally gave to the area surrounding his land stuck. A solid community has grown from the scattered homes and farms surrounding Balch’s old homestead. To avoid being annexed into Dallas, citizens of five different communities including Balch Springs banded together to incorporate their city in 1953.

Years later, in 1966, there was an unsuccessful case to legally disincorporate the town. Another attempt to dissolve it happened during 1970, when citizens elected to support incorporation into the city of Mesquite. The election was later declared invalid.

Balch Springs and its citizens have not looked back since, and it is a growing community mostly composed of middle-class residents. A quiet place, its once uncertain history as a real city has given it a unique small-town charm.

This atmosphere though belies the presence of major highways or access roads that run through or are near Balch Springs. Its economy is also benefited from its being an inner ring community in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

The government here makes much of the Texas Freedom of Information Act, so that any citizen can make an open records request from any department or official agency in the city. There is also the Balch Springs Library-Learning Center to get information from. This is an impressive installation with above-average resources for the size of the city it serves.

Besides local resources, residents of Balch Springs can visit LegalMatch.com which has an online Law Library with diverse and wide-ranging resource articles touching on many aspects of the law. LegalMatch connects individuals needing legal help to lawyers capable of handling their case, whether the law specialty is related to business or family law, or to a DUI or legal expungement case.

Residents in need of legal help like pro bono services, legal clinics, legal aid and free services related to attorneys have a lot of resources. These include the Dallas Bar Association, Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, and more.