Thomas Connor profile from the Joplin History people archive.
Thomas Connor was born in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1847 and came to the United States with his family in 1851. After early years in Ohio, Civil War newspaper work, prospecting, and business ventures in the West, he arrived in Joplin in 1871 and became one of the city's best-known mining-era entrepreneurs.
Connor built his fortune through lead and zinc mining, land ownership, banking, and public utilities. His holdings included acreage in the Webb City, Carterville, and Prosperity mining districts, and the Victor mine was remembered as one of his most productive properties. He also served as president of Miners Bank of Joplin and was a principal owner of the Joplin Water Works.
His civic life included Democratic politics, election to the Missouri Senate in 1906, and philanthropy that supported local churches, St. John's Hospital, and the Connor Charity Fund. Connor died in San Antonio in 1907 before the opening of the Connor Hotel, the downtown landmark built from his plans and later named in his memory.