Little names on a map - SW MO (Springfield, Nixa: houses, elementary schools)

[garth]

Looking south of Springfield, the bigger names appear to be Nixa, Ozark, and of course Branson much further south. Although they are towns in their own right, it appears to me that the first two are, more or less, suburbs of Springfield due to urban sprawl. Of course, tell me if I'm wrong.

I mentioned them because I also see many other names on the map that don't appear to be as big, but are still in the general area between Springfield and Branson. What they are is not readily apparent to me. Are they little towns with their own town halls, or are they just wide spots in the road with a name? When someone is asked where they're from, do they refer to these places?

Some of the names that I'm coming across include: Chestnut Ridge, Spokane, Highlandville, Montegue, Christian Center, McCracken, Boaz, and Jamesville, to name a few. Again, are these towns, wide spots in the road, or what?

Again, I'm just trying to get an understanding of the area. Thanks for your help.

[NOLA2SGF]

Originally Posted by garth

Some of the names that I'm coming across include: Chestnut Ridge, Spokane, Highlandville, Montegue, Christian Center, McCracken, Boaz, and Jamesville, to name a few. Again, are these towns, wide spots in the road, or what?

Population, Census 2000:

Chestnut Ridge......not found
Spokane..............133
Highlandville.........872
Montegue............not found
Christian Center....not found
McCracken...........not found
Boaz...................not found
Jamesville............not found

Looks like they are wide spots in the road, with the possible exception of Highlandville.

[Randy Henderson]

Highlandville and Spokane are both towns with at least elementary schools. The rest of those are old towns from the day that a 10 mile trip was an all day affair. Nothing in any of them anymore, except a few scattered houses.