Gumbo is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in northwestern St. Francois County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. The community is located along

Missouri Route 8 Route 8 is a state highway in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. It travels from Interstate 44 (I-44) in St. James to U.S. Route 67 (US 67) and US 67 Business in Desloge. It acts as a bypass, from I-44 in St. James, t ...

between Desloge and Leadwood. The meandering Big River lies to the north. Gumbo most likely was so named on account of "" dirt near the original town site. During World War II, a large

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

plant was located five miles west of Gumbo.

Notable People

Ferlin Husky Ferlin Eugene Husky (December 3, 1925 – March 17, 2011) was an early American country music singer who was equally adept at the genres of traditional honky-tonk, ballads, spoken recitations, and rockabilly pop tunes. He had two dozen top-20 hit ...

, country music singer, member of the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amas ...

Evelyn Tripp Evelyn Tripp (1927-1995) was a leading fashion model of the 1950s and 1960s. Evelyn Tripp was born in Flat River, Missouri, in 1927, the daughter of a lead miner. Tripp was discovered by an assistant to Louise Dahl-Wolfe, the ''Harper's Bazaar'' ...

, leading fashion model of the 1950s and 1960s. * Jeff Eaton, bassist for

Split Lip Rayfield Split Lip Rayfield is an American vocal and acoustic instrumental group from Wichita, Kansas, United States. Though they are sometimes classified as a bluegrass, alternative country, or cowpunk band, their music draws on a wide array of influe ...

References

Unincorporated communities in St. Francois County, Missouri Unincorporated communities in Missouri {{StFrancoisCountyMO-geo-stub