I've mentioned in previous posts my fascination with small towns that no longer exist or that now exist under a different name. Another such place is the small community of Gadfly, located in Barry County about twelve miles northwest of Cassville or about five miles west of Purdy. Now called Corsicana, the town was founded prior to the Civil War, and it was mentioned several times in military reports filed during the war. The Union army had a detachment stationed there and operated a mill there during part of the war, and it was the site of at least one small skirmish.
In 1874, the town had several businesses and an estimated population of one hundred people. Two years later the name was changed, but the new town of Corsicana never flourished. Located off the beaten path, the village's population was never much more than the 100 people it boasted in 1874, and even that number declined over the years until Corsicana today is little more than a wide place in the road.
2 comments:
According to Goodspeed's History of Barry County (1888), Gadfly changed its name in January, 1870. It failed to flourish because it was bypassed by the railroad. Later the small community virtually disappeared because it was destroyed by a tornado.
Thanks for the added info. The date of the name change was just something I found on the Internet. The county history is probably right.
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