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BARRY, TEXAS
Navarro
County, Central
Texas North
32°05'56"N 96°38'13"W (32.098806, -96.636936)
Highway 22
10 Miles W of Corsicana
the county seat
S of Dallas
ZIP code 75102
Area codes 903, 430
Population: 220 (2020)
242 (2010) 209 (2000) 175 (1990) |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Bryan T. Barry,
the owner of the land on which the town developed is the obvious namesake.
Originally a mile south of the present-day town, basic amenities (
a cotton gin and post office) were in operation in the mid 1880s.
It was the arrival of the railroad that shifted the town’s center
in 1888.
In 1896 the first public school opened with an estimated student population
of 127. By 1914 the population had increased to around 400 residents
and Barry had a newspaper as well as two banks and nearly all essential
businesses.
The population only declined to 350 as the Great Depression was growing
to an end in the late 1930s. In the late 1950s Barry’s school district
merged with that of Blooming Grove.
The 1970 census reported 175 residents with only two businesses open.
The 2000 census slowed a slight improvement, counting 208 residents. |
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Historical Marker:
BARRY
This agricultural
community was named for Corsicana
businessman Bryan T. Barry, who developed the land deeded for the
townsite by early settlers Dave and Effie Wright. The Barry Post Office
was established in 1886, the same year the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas
Railroad came through the town. The first post office was housed in
the general store operated by Owen Taylor, who also was the town's
first postmaster. Henry Allison later served as rural mail carrier
for 40 years. Early businesses in Barry included the First State Bank,
which operated from 1909 until 1931, grocery stores, gas stations,
drugstores, blacksmith shops, a newspaper office, a meat market, a
cafe, and a hotel. In 1910, W. T. Woodruff and R. W. Varnell formed
Woodruff and Co., which sold dry goods, hardware, and farm implements.
Settlers were attracted to the area by its rich farmland, and by 1920
most of the land had been cleared and planted in cotton.
Barry's first cotton gin was established in 1899 by Dan McCammon,
and E. Y.Jordan and Jack Hodge also operated early gins.
Methodist and Baptist churches were organized by the end of the 19th
century, and the Barry School, which opened in 1895, served the area
until 1958.
(Marker on FM 1126)
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Historical Marker:
Barry Baptist
Church
The Barry Baptist
Church congregation, originally organized as the Elam Baptist Church
congregation, was established in September 1891 with seven charter
members. The Rev. C. R. Roberts became the congregation's first pastor
in June of 1892.
Early services were held in a church structure one block northeast
of this site. The congregation quickly became involved in county and
statewide Baptist church affairs, affiliating with the Navarro County
Baptist Association of the Baptist Convention of Texas in July 1892.
Additionally, the congregation was able to institute a Sunday School
program by 1895, under the leadership of J. M. Head, who served as
first Sunday School superintendent.
In 1916-17, during the pastorate of the Rev. A. W. Luper, the congregation
built its second church structure at this site. Worship services have
been held at this location since December of 1917. The Barry Baptist
Church congregation has been involved in a variety of missionary activities
over the years, concentrating on local mission programs, and it has
played a prominent role in this community for over one hundred years.
(Marker on FM 1126) |
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