Another little town that I passed through on my way to Jefferson City the week before last was Brazito. It's a wide place in the road in Cole County about twelve miles southwest of Jefferson City along Highway 54. Like Branch that I wrote about last week, it is another place that I've sometimes wondered about, as far as its origins and history.
There's not a lot of information about Brazito readily available, but here's what little I've been able to learn. Brazito was founded in 1850 and named after the Battle of Brazito by soldiers returning from the Mexican War. Brazito was settled mainly by German-Americans, and it got a post office in 1856. During the latter part of the nineteenth century, it was apparently a going little place, even though there seemingly was never much more there than the post office, a store or two, and a school. In 1873, the Jefferson City State Times reported that Brazito was one of two villages in Clark Township where public meetings and neighborhood gatherings were held. Brazito was also "a favorite stopping place for refreshments with travelers." The store of Christopher Arnhold, who doubled as the postmaster, supplied "the wants of his neighbors," and his inn was a place where travelers could get "bounteous refreshment and rest." In 1892, Brazito was a significant-enough place that a rivalry developed between it and Jefferson City over where the teachers' institute (a county-wide teachers' meeting) would be held the following year. I'm not sure which town prevailed, but the fact that Brazito was even considered suggests that it was probably more than just a wide place in the road at the time.
Brazito lost its post office in 1930, and it has apparently declined since then, at least as a center for commerce and community events, although there are still quite a few residences in the vicinity.
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