McCracken, Missouri

McCracken is an unincorporated community in Christian County, in the U.S. state of Missouri.[1] It is about 3.3 miles east of Ozark, Missouri.[2]

History

The McCracken area got rail service when a subsidiary of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (Frisco) extended a line from Ozark, Missouri to Chadwick, Missouri, in the Spring of 1883.[3] A post office called McCracken was established in 1896, and remained in operation until 1932.[4] The community was named after Samuel McCracken, a local merchant.[5] McCracken in the 1890's was a thriving community with a general mercantile store, a blacksmith shop, several other business establishments, and even a mobile photography studio parked on the rail siding offering portrait pictures at $3/dozen.[3] But passenger service on the Frisco line was discontinued in March 1933,[6] and in 1934 the line from Ozark to Chadwick was abandoned entirely.[3]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: McCracken, Missouri
2. "Ozark, Missouri to McCracken, Missouri". Google Maps. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
3. "An Early Mobile Photographic Studio" (PDF). All Aboard, The Frisco Railroad Museum, August, 1988 (accessed on CondrenRails.com). Retrieved October 14, 2020.
4. "Post Offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
5. "Christian County Place Names, 1928–1945 (archived)". The State Historical Society of Missouri. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
6. "Pokin Around: Plans call for part of Chadwick Flyer spur line to become recreational trail". Steve Pokin, Springfield News-Leader, April 4, 2020.

37°01′03″N 93°09′29″W