Hattie, Missouri facts for kids

Hattie was once a small community in southeast Texas County, Missouri. Today, it's known as an extinct town, meaning it no longer exists as a populated place. It was located near the South Prong Jacks Fork, a stream, and about two miles north of the county line.

Discovering Hattie, Missouri

Hattie was a small settlement in the southeastern part of Texas County, in the state of Missouri. It was situated in a quiet, rural area, close to a stream called the South Prong Jacks Fork. If you were looking for it on a map, it would have been about two miles north of the county border.

The Story Behind the Name

The town of Hattie was named after a special person: Hattie Cross. She was the wife of an early settler named John P. Cross. John P. Cross and his father, William Cross, were among the first people to claim land in the area through a program called the U.S. Homestead Act. This act allowed people to get land from the government if they lived on it and improved it.

Hattie's Post Office

A post office was a very important part of small communities like Hattie. It was where people sent and received letters and packages. Hattie's post office first opened its doors in 1891. After John P. Cross passed away in 1930, his wife, Gladys Cross, took over the job of postmistress. She continued to run the post office from a small bedroom in their home, serving the people living in and around Hattie for many years. The post office stayed open until 1957. The family's homestead, where the post office was located, remained until Gladys passed away in the late 1960s.