Turley is an extinct town in
Texas 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 sover ...
of
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
. The
GNIS
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...
classifies it as a populated place. The community is located on
Roubidoux Creek Roubidoux Creek is a tributary to the Gasconade River in the Ozarks of south central Missouri named after French-Canadian fur trader Joseph Robidoux. It is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe ...
, approximately two miles downstream (northwest) of
Roubidoux. The community of
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
is about 4.5 miles to the northwest.
A post office called Turley was established in 1886, and remained in operation until 1949. The community has the name of Turley Embree, the son of an early postmaster.
Liberty Baptist Church at Turley was the second church organized in Texas County. Organized in 1848, the first church building was erected in 1857. The second church building, though in disrepair, is still standing next to the cemetery.
The Liberty School was established a few years after the church.
[The Houston Herald (Houston, Missouri) 16 May 1963, Page 4 "History Behind Liberty Church"]
In the 1960's the skeleton of the old mill still stood in the community. "It was run by a water wheel and ground corn on stone burrs. One of the first roller mills to make flour was later added and was then powered by steam. The mill would run from daylight until dark, and many times all night, six days a week."
The mill had three stories and operated until the turn-of-the-century with power from an overshot wooden wheel. The steam boiler and machinery was used until operations ceased about 1935.
At one time, Turley had a drug store, a doctor, three store buildings-two with lodge halls upstairs. The Masons, Odd Fellows, and Woodsmen of the World met at Turley.
The "J. M. Gladden" General Store housed the post office in the back on a raised platform with the letter boxes to the side. The store sold "everything anybody ever needed!"
Pictures of remnants of Turley's buildings can be found at Mill Pictures.com.
References
Ghost towns in Missouri
Former populated places in Texas County, Missouri
{{TexasCountyMO-geo-stub