Pelham, in Shelby County, Alabama, acquired its name about 1867 in honor of “Gallant Pelham,” Major John Pelham of the Confederate Army, who was killed in action at Kelly’s Ford, Virginia, on March 17, 1863, at age 24, and who fought to protect the Confederacy prison camp at Cahawba. The town was officially incorporated on July 10, 1964, with a population of 654. Through the 1990s, Pelham’s population grew by about 47 percent, and the Pelham Public Library, Pelham Civic Complex, and a historic cemetery were under the operation of the City of Pelham. As of 2010, Pelham’s population was nearly 20,000. Ballantrae Golf Course, established in 2004, took its name from Ballantrae, a very small town in Scotland known as a traditional gathering place for the Scottish clan. Because golf began in Scotland, Pelham’s Ballantrae community was designed to evoke Old World imagery through its architecture, and its golf course recalled the game’s Scottish heritage. In spectacular surroundings, with every dogleg hole presenting fresh challenges, Ballantrae Golf Course had become, by 2010, one of the most popular public courses in the Shelby County area.