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The present town of Wortham, which is near Frankclay, was first laid out by the Cherry Town Site Company in 1904. It included two large blocks with forty-eight lots. Then in 1909 it was again surveyed by the Hoffman Town Site Company adding more blocks. The town was then called Cherryville. The post-office located there was named Wortham and this name is now used to designate the town.

Published in a BRIEF AUTHENTIC HISTORY OF ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, MISSOURI. Compiled by J. Tom Miles, A.M. and Published in The Farmington News in Ten Chapters September 13 to November 15, 1935. Printed in booklet form through the courtesy of J. Clyde Akers, County Superintendent of Schools.

The following information was found in the publication "A Brief History of Cherryville/Wortham, Missouri" by William D. Wortham:

         The town of Cherryville was founded when a survey was made of a forty acre (1/4 mile by 1/4 mile) tract of land which was a part of the Bill Cherry family farm.  The plat of land was recorded in the Recorders Office at the Court House of St. Francois County in Farmington, Missouri as the Cherrytown Plat (northwest ten acres) on November 29, 1904 and the remaining 30 acres of the 40 acre plot was recorded as the Cherryville Plat on May 29, 1905. 

      The town of Cherryville had mail delivered to Mr. Raymond Wortham's store postmarked with Cherryville, Missouri from about 1918-25.

      The U. S. Postal service had numerous complaints with the mail distribution during this time period, since Cherryville, Missouri near Steeleville [Steelville] in Crawford County already was in existence.  The U.S. Postal Service changed the name of the town to Wortham in May 1925 and began using the Wortham, Missouri postmark.

      Mr. Ray Wortham operated the Post Office from 1918 to the early 1930's.  Dr. George Hughes operated the Post Office from the early 1930's to the mid 1940's.  Mr. Edwin Lashley was the Postmaster from the mid 1940's to the early 1960's as a full service Post Office and later as a Postal Station.  The Post Office was closed in the 1960's and the mailing address became Route 33, Flat River, Missouri.  In the 1990's, the address changed again to street numbers and Park Hills, Mo. to support the new 911 system.

Thank you to Betty Daniels for contributing the photographs on this page!

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