The William B. McAntire House

William McAntire (1848-1911) was born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He came to Joplin in
May 1873 and was considered an early pioneer of Joplin. He was also a pioneer member of the Commercial Club of Joplin, which would many years later become the Chamber of Commerce. William married Charlotte “Lottie” Martin on February 14, 1876. She was born in June 1853 and lived until July 1909. William was an attorney and on several
occasions was elected police judge of the city.

He was in practice by himself and part of the time in partnership with his first cousin, J. W. McAntire. In the early 1890s he gave up active practice of law and entered the real estate business.

In Judge McAntire’s obituary he was described as a “…pioneer of Joplin and no man in the city’s history ever bore a better reputation.  He forgot selfish ends where a question of integrity or honesty was concerned.”  He also fostered many city improvements.  One of Judge McAntire’s honorary pallbearers was Charles Schifferdecker.

His parents W.S. and Elizabeth E (VanMeter) McAntire were natives of Virginia. In 1849 William’s parents went west to Missouri locating at Memphis Scotland County where they engaged in agricultural pursuits for eight years. W. B. attended the schools while there acquiring a liberal education.

Mrs. McIntire was born in Scotland. From the marriage there were two children William Edwin born June 26, 1877 and Arthur Benford born October 1880. Mr. And Mrs. McAntire resided in their beautiful home on the corner of Fifth and Moffet.

ARCHITECTURE – The two-and-one-half-story Queen Anne house has a hip roof with lower cross-gables.  Gabled wings project from the north, east and south elevations.  A side-wrap hip-roof porch projects from the primary (north) and east elevations.  It has limestone piers with round wood columns and a lattice railing.  A pediment defines the entrance.  A stylized Palladian window fills the peak of the gable above the cornice.