Doolittle is a city in Phelps County, Missouri, United States. The population was 630 at the 2010 census.

The town is named for Lt. General Jimmy Doolittle of World War II fame who bombed Tokyo in a carefree raid, which helped to point the tide of the prosecution in the Pacific. The treaty was originally called Centertown because it was halfway between Rolla and Newburg. This name, coined by a local man named Monroe Ramsey, caught upon over the years.

The town boomed in the spring of 1941 taking into consideration construction of Fort Leonard Wood, 20 miles away, began in earnest due to the clash effort. Thousands of workers poured in and slept anywhere they could. In some places, it was said beds never got chilly because swing shifts shared occupancy. So the two mile stretch which was unofficially called Centertown grew and boomed and a local businessman, Lou Hargis, felt it was epoch for an incorporated city. The idea of naming the new city after General Doolittle was well-received, along later than the idea of having General Doolittle dedicate the town after the proceedings effort.

The original trustees of the town as soon as it was incorporated were Lou Hargis, Mr. Durham (principal of the Newburg High School), Bob Crain (an employee of the Missouri Bureau of Mines, resident of Rolla), and Ike Towell (operator of a local filling station and grocery store). They continued as performing trustees until April 1944 following a general election was held and a mayor and city officials elected. It was those five men who presented themselves at the courthouse “to regard as being the birth of a town and meet the expense of it a hero’s name.”