* By Ra'Vae Edwards
redwards@newstribune.com

MILLER COUNTY, Mo. - Near the southern edge of the county, about eight miles south of Iberia, are the remnants of what used to be a small country town called Faith.


Although no longer in existence - not much other than a country church and a cemetery remain - at one time the community was well populated.

Founded shortly after the Civil War, in the late 1860s, the town faded and already was losing residents by the early 1900s.

The only information about the settlement is available through the Miller County Historical Society's museum in Tuscumbia. And, although there most certainly are some descendants of the original settlers, we were unable to locate them.

However, thanks to the work of a former Miller County resident Kelly Warman-Stallings the history of the small community will never be forgotten.

In her book, Ghost Towns of Central Missouri, Stallings discovered the town was once home to a small country school, a cemetery, a church, a trading post, a post office, a mill, a blacksmith and a general store.

Faith's beginning can be attributed to James M. Wall , better known as “Black Jim,” and his wife, Mildred. Married in Virginia, the couple headed west in search of a new home and a better life. Settling in the backwoods portion of Miller County, “Black Jim” built the trading post the town grew around.

Although “Black Jim” and Mildred were born and raised in Virginia, they spent the remaining years of their life in Miller County. Both died in 1928 only seven days apart after 60 years of marriage.



James and Mildred Wall were the original founders of the community of Faith in southern Miller County. They, along with their children, are buried in the Curry Cemetery located near where the settlement was founded.
* (Photo by Ra'Vae Edwards/News Tribune)


The church, built in the late 1800s, the church and the school were both named for local resident Silas Curry.#57

Like the Walls, Curry also relocated to Miller County from Virginia, but it was several years later.

The Curry School consolidated with the Iberia R-5 School District sometime in the mid-1900s. The date of the consolidation is unknown. Once the consolidation was complete, the Curry School closed its doors.

The cemetery also was named for Curry because he was the first to be interred there in June 1896. One month later, he was joined by his grandson in the same burial ground.

“Black Jim” and Mildred also are buried in the Curry Cemetery.

Stallings said it is unclear why the Wall family chose to call their community Faith. Although the community didn't flourish and grow, there are legends that bring two of Missouri's most famous outlaws to Faith.

Legend has it that the James' Brothers were Mildred's cousins and spent some time in the community hanging out with family.

Today, 140 years later, the only thing remaining is the Curry Church and the Curry Cemetery, a short distance east of the original settlement.



The Curry Church in southern Miller County was named for Silas Curry, a former resident of the Faith community.
* (Photo by Ra'Vae Edwards/News Tribune)


* This article and photos appeared in Missouri's newspaper, News Tribune on May 16, 2007.
I asked for, and received, permission to copy the article and photos to display here.
Thank you very much to Ra'Vae Edwards (photographer) and the Editor for this wonderful story and for allowing me to use it.