Carytown, MO

Carytown is a rural Jasper County village whose name comes from the Cary family, the original landowners. A post office operated here from 1885 to 1901, and the village once had a store, elevator, and Missouri Pacific station. The 2020 census counted 287 residents. The place now sits inside the Joplin metropolitan area, but its local shape is still country roads, large fields, and a small settlement without a built-up commercial center. The village remains spread across a broad rural area.

School lines give Carytown an unusual split. The northern portion belongs to Jasper County R-V, whose elementary campus is in nearby Jasper, while the southern portion falls in Carthage R-IX and continues toward Carthage Senior High School. Those boundaries tie the village to two neighboring school communities and to the county's larger road network. Carytown's old railroad and postal role has faded, but the family name, scattered village footprint, and school-district divide still mark it as a distinct place on the Jasper County map.