What is the history of Joplin, Missouri?
Lead was discovered in the Joplin Creek Valley before the American Civil WarCivil 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 MethodismMethodist 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. 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 scattered about. Trolley and rail lines made Joplin the hub of Southwest Missouri and 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 stri
