Additional surrounding rural areas include Upham, Primrose, and Grove Hill.
The community was first called South Stream and later changed to honour Thomas G. Barnes, the first postmaster.
A commercial greenhouse supplies flower baskets for local garden centers and retail stores and employs several people from the surrounding area.
A community garden was formed in the spring of 2015 by a group of local volunteers, with 30 allotments in use and 13 participants in the first year.
Only one fully operational farm - specializing in beef cattle - remains in the community.