The McCracken area got rail service when a subsidiary of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (Frisco) extended a line from Ozark, Missouri to Chadwick, Missouri, in the Spring of 1883.[3] A post office called McCracken was established in 1896, and remained in operation until 1932.[4] The community was named after Samuel McCracken, a local merchant.[5] McCracken in the 1890's was a thriving community with a general mercantile store, a blacksmith shop, several other business establishments, and even a mobile photography studio parked on the rail siding offering portrait pictures at $3/dozen.[3] But passenger service on the Frisco line was discontinued in March 1933,[6] and in 1934 the line from Ozark to Chadwick was abandoned entirely.[3]
^ abc"An Early Mobile Photographic Studio"(PDF). All Aboard, The Frisco Railroad Museum, August, 1988 (accessed on CondrenRails.com). Retrieved October 14, 2020.
^"Post Offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved September 19, 2016.