A Small Town Girl's Guide » Richwoods

St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church

MilliGFunk — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:53:32 +0000

I’ve really become awestruck by the beauty of small town Missouri churches. Each new town I explore in rural Missouri boasts several churches, at least. The smaller and quainter the church, the better, in my opinion.

Upon embarkation of my Richwoods, Missouri fire engine expedition, I would never have expected to feel my breath catch in my throat at anything architectural in this unincorporated community. At the end of my self-tour of Richwoods, however, I happened upon St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church.

St. Stephen Roman Catholic, photo by smalltowngirl

There was something about this white frame church, in Richwoods since 1841, that simply took my breath away. Some combination of the completely blank hillside behind the church, the single large tree in the yard, and the stone pillars on either side of the main sidewalk added an historic and almost ghostly air to the church, and I found myself treading lightly on the grass as I took my photographs.

Entrance, photo by smalltowngirl

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Richwoods, Missouri is located between Sullivan and Hillsboro, Missouri, in Washington County, on Highway A/Y, off of Missouri Highway 47.

Richwoods, MO Ford F750 Fire Engine

Richwoods, MO Ford 850 Fire Engine

Richwoods, MO Cadillac Ambulance (Ghostbusters car style)

Richwoods, MO Yellow and Orange Fire Trucks

Fire Engine Self Portraits

Richwoods, MO Mack Truck Fire Engine

Richwood, MO Playing with Shadows

Playing with Shadows

MilliGFunk — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:46:23 +0000

When I explored the fire engine graveyards in Richwoods, Missouri, it was nearly the end of the day, and the sun cast long shadows everywhere I walked.

After an hour or more of trespassing on private property, being eaten alive by chiggars, and praying to God that some country bumpkin didn’t chase me off with a shotgun, I closed my adventure out with a few fun shadow shots, taken against the bright reds, yellows, and oranges of Richwood’s amazing old fire engines.

Shadow I, photo by and of smalltowngirl

Shadow II, photo by and of smalltowngirl

Shadow III, photo by and of smalltowngirl

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Richwoods, Missouri is located between Sullivan and Hillsboro, Missouri, in Washington County, on Highway A/Y, off of Missouri Highway 47.

Richwoods, MO Ford F750 Fire Engine

Richwoods, MO Ford 850 Fire Engine

Richwoods, MO Cadillac Ambulance (Ghostbusters car style)

Richwoods, MO Yellow and Orange Fire Trucks

Fire Engine Self Portraits

Richwoods, MO Mack Truck Fire Engine

The Ghostbusters Car in Richwoods, MO

MilliGFunk — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:38:47 +0000

Wikipedia lists Richwoods, Missouri as an “unincorporated community”, not a town. Richwoods was my Friday night destination of choice, and surprisingly, exploring it was a nice distraction from how much I miss my Friday nights in New York City.

Richwoods is in northern Washington County, Missouri. I would tell you what the population of Richwoods is, but “unincorporated communities” are not listed in the US Census.

Seriously though, who cares about population when the town has something much groovier to boast. Richwoods, Missouri is home to a slew of old, run-down, beaten-up fire engines.

Every field in town (yes, every field in town, bizarre as that sounds to my NYC friends) seems to have at least one old fire engine parked in it. My favorite is this Cadillac ambulance, which looks to me like a red version of the Ghostbusters car.

Richwoods Caddy, photo by smalltowngirl

Resuscitator Equipped, photo by smalltowngirl

Richwoods Cadillac, photo by smalltowngirl

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Richwoods, Missouri is located between Sullivan and Hillsboro, Missouri, in Washington County, on Highway A/Y, off of Missouri Highway 47.