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Barren

Ghost town · Carter County, Missouri

Van Buren quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1944, 1:62,500)
Van Buren quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1944, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Barren is a ghost town in Carter County, Missouri, recorded as human settlement in Missouri, United States of America. It is one of 2 former communities in Carter County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 78th among the 102 Missouri counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Barren as a historical populated place on the Handy topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 36.8281° N, 91.0143° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleHandy
Elevation471 ft
Nearest living townHunter, MO
Distance to it9.9 miles
GNIS feature ID740402
Coordinates36.82811, -91.01429

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Barren is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Hunter, MO (population 60), about 9.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 471 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Barren?

Barren is in Carter County, Missouri, at 36.8281, -91.0143.

How many ghost towns are in Carter County?

Carter County, Missouri has 2 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.