Barry was previously known as Worcester, which was platted in 1836. In 1839, residents petitioned to establish a post office, but because there was already a post office named Worcester, a new name was required. The name 'Barre' was chosen afterBarre, Vermont, the home city of a prominent settler, Mary Brown, who was arbitrarily selected to choose a name. The state clerk misrecorded the name as 'Barry'.[3]
As of thecensus[8] of 2000, there were 1,368 people, 552 households, and 363 families living in the city. The population density was 1,198.0 inhabitants per square mile (462.6/km2). There were 623 housing units at an average density of 545.6 per square mile (210.7/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 99.42%White, 0.44%Asian, and 0.15% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 0.80% of the population.
There were 552 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% weremarried couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 23.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,635, and the median income for a family was $37,143. Males had a median income of $26,607 versus $18,050 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $18,097. About 9.2% of families and 11.5% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.