Gerald, MO

Gerald was platted beside the railroad in 1901 and named for the local Fitzgerald family, but today US 50 is the town's most obvious line. The highway runs east-west as Fitzgerald Street, meeting MO Highway H at Bernhardt Street, and puts this western Franklin County city right at the Franklin-Gasconade county line. The Gerald Area Library, founded by residents in 1994 and run by volunteers and donations, gives the town a particularly local institution. Gerald is a small Missouri stop built around rail and road, with the library, the lending shelves, and the old Fitzgerald name keeping the place personal.