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Navarro County TX
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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
Population: 250 Est. (2016)
242 (2010) 209 (2000) 175 (1990)

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Barry Tx Post Office
Barry Post Office, TX 75102
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Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, October 2009

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.
Barry Tx City Limit Road Sign
Barry Texas City Limit
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, October 2009
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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Barry, Texas Landmarks

Barry Tx - Barry Baptist Church
Barry Baptist Church
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, October 2009
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)
Barry Tx Church
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, October 2009
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Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, October 2009
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Barry, Texas Nearby Towns:
Corsicana the county seat
Dallas
See Navarro County | Central Texas North

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