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Paydown Ford

Ghost town · Maries County, Missouri

Vienna quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1937, 1:62,500)
Vienna quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1937, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Paydown Ford is a ghost town in Maries County, Missouri. It is one of 5 former communities in Maries County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 44th among the 102 Missouri counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Paydown Ford as a historical populated place on the Paydown 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 38.2323° N, 91.8118° W.

Key facts

USGS quadranglePaydown
Elevation599 ft
Nearest living townBelle, MO
Distance to it6.1 miles
GNIS feature ID741142
Coordinates38.23227, -91.81183

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What's there now

Paydown Ford is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Belle, MO (population 1,476), about 6.1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 599 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Paydown Ford?

Paydown Ford is in Maries County, Missouri, at 38.2323, -91.8118.

How many ghost towns are in Maries County?

Maries County, Missouri has 5 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.