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Cities Near Joplin, MO
2610 S Pearl Ave
Joplin, MO (in city)
2 Bed, 1 Bath
Multiple Family Home
1200 sq.ft.
104 Byers Ave
Joplin, MO (in city)
2 Bed, 1+ Bath
Home
1200 sq.ft.
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Local city information for Joplin, MO
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. In 2007, the population was estimated at 49,100 and the surrounding Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated population of 172,933 in 2008. Although often believed to be named for ragtime composer Scott Joplin who lived in Sedalia, Missouri, Joplin is actually named for Reverend Harris Joplin, the founder of the area's first Methodist congregation.
Lead was discovered in the Joplin Creek Valley before the Civil War, but it was only after the war that any real development occurred. By 1871 numerous mining camps had sprung up in the valley and resident John C. Cox filed a plan for a city on the east side of the valley.
Cox named his village Joplin City after the spring and creek nearby. The namesake comes from the Reverend Harris G. Joplin who founded the first Methodist congregation in the area in mid-century. Carthage resident Patrick Murphy filed a plan for a city on the opposite side of the valley and named it Murphysburg. While the nearest sheriff was in Carthage a sense of lawlessness abounded in the town. This time is referred to as the "Reign of Terror". The cities eventually merged into Union City, but this merger was found illegal and the two cities split. Patrick Murphy then suggested that the town become Joplin. They merged again on March 23, 1873, this time permanently, a short time later as the City of Joplin.
While Joplin was first put on the map by lead, it was zinc, often referred to as "jack", that built the town. With the railroads coming through Joplin was on the verge of major growth. What was once a simple mining town became a more complete mining town that built smelters, dynamite, and all sorts of mining necessities.
By the turn of the century Joplin was quickly becoming a regional metropolis. Construction centered around Main Street, with many bars, hotels, and fine homes nearby. Joplin's House of Lords was its most famous saloon, with a bar and restaurant on the first floor, gambling on the second, and female companionship on the third. Trolley and rail lines made Joplin the hub of Southwest Missouri and as the center of the
Tri-state district it soon became the lead and zinc capital of the world.
As a result of extensive surface and deep mining, Joplin is dotted with open pit mines and mine shafts. This left many tailings piles (small hills of ground rock) considered unsightly locally. The open pit mines themselves pose both hazards and sources of beauty. The main part of Joplin itself is nearly 75% undermined, with some mine shafts well over 100ft (30m) deep. These mine shafts have occasionally caved in, creating sink holes. The mining history and geology are well documented in the mineral museum in town.
In the 1933, Bonnie and Clyde spent several weeks in Joplin and robbed several area businesses. Tipped off by a neighbor, Joplin police attempted to apprehend Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie and Clyde escaped (killing Newton County Constable John Wesley Harryman and Joplin police Detective Harry McGinnis in the process); however, they were forced to leave most of their possessions behind, including a camera. The film in this camera was developed by the Joplin Globe. The rolls of film contained the now-legendary photos of Bonnie holding Clyde at mock gunpoint and of Bonnie with her foot on a fender, pistol in her hand and cigar in her mouth. The Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation nominated the house at 34th Street and Oak Ridge Drive for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places on February 13, 2009.
After World War II, most of the mines were closed, population growth leveled off, and in the sixties and seventies nearly 40 acres (160,000 m²) of the city's downtown were razed in the name of urban renewal.
Notable places in Joplin included the House of Lords (demolished), the Connor Hotel (demolished), the Keystone Hotel (demolished), the Newman Mercantile Store (now City Hall), the Frisco Depot (demolished), Christman's Department Store, the Union Depot (still standing but abandoned), the Scottish Rite Cathedral, the Liberty Building (demolished), the Fox Theatre (remodeled), and the Crystal Cave (filled in and now a parking lot).
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