Faith | WTTP

FAITH By Kelly Warman-Stallings

In the backwoods country of southern Miller County, the small settlement of Faith began its existence in the late 1860s, after the Civil War. This small town/community in Richwoods Township, consisted of a trading post, general store, post office, blacksmith, a mill, school, and church. Faith's beginning was largely due to a man named James M. Wall, better known as "Black Jim" Wall to the country folks. Not long after 'Black Jim' married Mildred M. James in Virginia (mid 1860s), the newlyweds ventured west to Miller County and settled there for the rest of their lives.

Jim and Mildred built the trading post/general store/mill and gave it the name of Faith. I have no idea why they chose Faith to christen the town; perhaps they had faith in God and therefore dubbed this name to their new home.

In the 1870s and 1880s, the backwoods country around Faith became a common place for the notorious James brothers (Jesse & Frank) to visit. Mildred (James) Wall was a cousin to these famous outlaws and they were known to travel to these parts to spend time with their kinfolks. Many wild legends have been told over the years about the visit from the James brothers; some were true, others tall tales! Rumor has it that after Jesse's death, older brother, Frank James, came back to the area often. He would sit under a tall shade tree and play his fiddle as the country folks gathered to listen.

Artwork by Kirk D. Warman

The Curry church and school were located very close to the community and both were erected in the late 1800s. The church and school were both named for Silas Curry, who migrated to the county from Virginia about 1877. He and his wife, Adeline, settled in southeast Glaize Township, near the Richwoods line. In 1930/31, Curry School was listed as District #84 and the teacher that year was Emery Allee. Many children of the Faith Community attended Curry School over the years which spanned quite a few decades of the 20th century until the consolidation of Iberia's R-5 school closed Curry's doors.

Ancestral Names in the Region: Alexander, Allee, Allen, Andrews, Barton, Cochran, Curry, Davis, Duncan, Hendericks, Horton, Karr, Keeth, Long, Luttrell, Martin, Meredith, Pemberton, Pelmmons, Shelton, Thomas, Thornsberry, Wall, Whittle, Winfrey, Wornell, Wyrick.