Raytown (Mama's Family)

Raytown is the fictional small southern community that the Harper family and their friends live in on the television sitcom, Mama's Family. The community is known as the "Hub of the Tri-State (sometimes, Tri-County) area". Usually, the correct description is "Tri-State Area". The community of Raytown was based on Raytown, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri.

The mayor is Alvin Tutweiler. For a while, Thelma Harper was the mayor, but only for a day when she returned the reins of power to Tutweiler, who had been romantically linked to Thelma's daughter, Ellen Harper. The City Council consists of, among others, a former topless dancer, Betty Ahern, also known as "Bouncing Betty Who Moves Like Spaghetti."

Other communities nearby include a town, across the river from Raytown, called Bump, which Eunice Harper Higgins once tried to run away from home to. As Thelma explained, "Eunice only got as far as Bump." Route 5 goes through Raytown, which is home to The Wagon's Hoe Trailer Park, an adult motel, and Councillor Ahern's former employer the Rainbow Room. Nearby is a community called Hinckley. Hinckley is presumed to be much larger than Raytown, example being that Hinckley had a Diamond mart. Another nearby community often mentioned is the town of Bundy. Hinckley, Bundy, and Bump are all towns along the Ray River.

Points of interest in the community is the former brothel "Ma Bodine's" where the town's founder, James A. Ray, died. What was Ma Bodine's at Number One Old Decatur Road is now the location of the Harper house, which was made a Raytown Historical Landmark.

The community's leading food store is Food Circus where Naomi Harper works as a cashier, and is later promoted to assistant manager. Also located in town is Kwik Keys where Naomi's husband, Vinton, works as a locksmith. Fast food is served at McRay's Burger World. Raytown has a moneyed elite; there is a country club, where Ellen Harper was named Woman of the Year, as well as an upscale "fine dining" restaurant called the Chez Ray. Ellen's family embarrassed her severely because of their southern ways, at both of these venues. There is an Indian restaurant, Abdul's Garden of Eatin'; plus another equally upscale restaurant called the Babylonian Roof Gardens.

Located in downtown Raytown is the community's (as well as the area's) leading department store, Niedermayers. Shopping also took place at the GalaRaya mall. At the mall there is another upscale restaurant called Martinelli's, an Italian-themed restaurant where the booths were shaped like gondolas. During a brief separation between Thelma and her husband Carl, Thelma was to be a waitress there. Another famous point of interest is The Bigger Jigger, a honky tonk in Raytown. It is Raytown's leading bar and grill, where Thelma's sister, Fran Crowley, died after choking on a toothpick in the ladies' room.

There are some more places of ill-repute, namely a place called Manny's Midnight Motel, where the eternally snide Eunice gleefully noted to her sister, Ellen, that Ellen's husband, Bruce Jackson, was spending most of his hours with his secretary, Peggy.

The community is also possessed of a junior college, where Bubba Higgins, Thelma's grandson, attended, and is the home of Edgar Allan Poe High School, where most of the family attended high school (Its team name is, appropriately, the Ravens). The community's newspapers include the Courier (obviously the major daily newspaper) and the Bugle, the latter where Fran worked as a reporter.

For general shopping, people frequently go to RayMart.