Julius Fischer, Interred at 13 & Maiden Lane, street 22. First place winners used Find-A-Grave app on their phone. Murphysburg dropped a GPS pin on the grave to help you find it.
He lost his race to Annie Baxter before she had the right to vote
Ready for a History Treasure Hunt?? Test your skills and have fun with your team.
HMP celebrated Historic Preservation Month this May with a History Treasure Hunt! The hunt was inspired by Joshua Shackles book“The Explorer’s Club”
HMP Mission: To promote, educate and preserve the integrity of historic properties throughout the Murphysburg District and Joplin.
HMP Vision: To help the people who live and visit our community understand how history shapes, inspires, and informs the present. To help the District remain a historic community that is beautiful, inviting, inclusive and safe for our neighbors to live and visitors to explore.
Winners had to check in at 11 locations to win! Our winners showed up approximately within 30 minutes of one another, taking about 3 to 3 1/2 hours to finish. Good work!!!
Want to learn about Joplin’s existing treasures and some that were lost. Take the tour on your own below.
Stay tuned for more fun events Murphysburg has coming up.
2nd Annual Murphysburg Treasure Hunt. Take the challenge!
- Where city fathers sleep in rows A miner’s stone keeps quiet score. He lost to history’s winning woman, Yet built the house that came before. ANSWER
2. Before the park, before the fame, The Creekside glasses filled with cheer. A German fortune found its roots, Where mining money flowed like beer. ANSWER
3. Two men dug down and struck a spark, That split the valley into two. Before the mansions, courts, and streets, The buried gray began to view. ANSWER
4. A merchants home on Sergeant stands, With faith and fabric interlaced. Seek the corner fire where art looks back, And temple dreams were first embraced. ANSWER
5. The mothers road once took a bend, Where travelers stopped for food and flame. Before the clippers claimed the pumps
A lucky leaf sold gas by name. ANSWER
6. A lawyers name, a bankers rise,
A mansion born of boomtown gain, From family halls to sacred work, Its walls have changed, but still remain. ANSWER
7. Where Joplin fought to hold the law, A stone recalls the county’s pride. A crowd once marched, the towers rose, Then smoke and fire took all inside. ANSWER
8. Not the mansion, but near its shade, A gardener kept the grounds in line. He crossed from servant into kin, And managed wealth of lead and vine. ANSWER
9. Before the rival town was one,
An eastern founder marked his claim. Across the creek from Murphy’s dream, His spring-fed plan preserved the name. ANSWER
10. Find the city’s maker of stone and line, Who shaped the skyline, school and prayer. His final room still holds its form, Among the gardens high in air. ANSWER
Our event was sponsored by: Thank you for your dedication to HMP’s preservation efforts.
The Jobe Stevens Apartments
This property is an L-shaped, minimal traditional one-story apartment building and boasts a large communal yard. But the story of how the structures came to be at this location is that of entrepreneurship and old fashion Joplin thrift. It all started with Jobe Stevens and his commercial land development on West 7th Street (Missouri Route 66) between Jackson and Connor Avenues.
The apartments at 602 S. Sergeant, were first constructed as a grouping of living units in 1938 and were located at 624 S. Jackson Avenue. Owned by Jobe Stevens of Stevens Investment Company, the units were known as the Alamo Apartments.
In order to redevelop the area at 7th and Jackson Avenue, Mr. Stevens moved five of the Jackson units to the vacant lot at 602 S. Sergeant. According to his building permit of October 13, 1966, Mr. Stevens “moved in” five apartments and added one new living unit. Exterior walls were to be stucco over frame or masonry; interior walls were to be plaster; and estimated cost was $5,000.
Where the apartments once stood on Jackson, Mr. Stevens built a grocery store (the new location for Foodtown Shopping/Family Center), a barber shop, a self-serve laundry, and a parking lot. Currently (May 2026) the grocery store is known as G&W Foods Cash Saver at 811 West 7th Street. There is a plaque on the building to the west of the front doors that reads, “Built By Jobe Stevens 1966.”
Jobe Stevens was born on November 1, 1898 in Cave Springs, Arkansas and died on November 9, 1980. He is buried in Rogers, Arkansas. He was a Joplin City Council candidate in 1968. Mr. Stevens was part owner and operator of the Crocker Packing Co., the Wallace Packing Co., and the K.C. Hotel Supply Co. He married Ruth Harp in 1920. Together they had three children.
2025 Accomplishments | Activities | Events
January – Removed Christmas wreaths from utility poles at $150 * Baby in the Bushes story (219 S. Sergeant in 1945) published in the Show Me Route 66 magazine
February – Mary Anne represented HMP at the CVB “Connections” meeting
April – Baby in the Bushes story on KZRG TV (MSSU TV) aired on Newsmakers Show and KOAM TV
May – The Murphysburg Treasure Hunt profited around $740 with 42 participants with 7 volunteers * New Banners were installed by the City at a cost to HMP of $440 for the design process and $625 for the banners totaling $1,065; the City paid for the brackets and installation
June – Received a $2,500 grant from the Missouri Humanities Council for printing of a comprehensive booklet; edited/researched the booklet all year
July – Mary Anne and Paula represented HMP at the Route 66 Association meeting held in Joplin
September – Whisky & Whispers: A Reflection on Prohibition profited $3,403 hosting 60 guests with 8 volunteers * Salvaged architectural elements from the Jane Chinn House (circa 1893) in Webb City; some items already sold and donated with remaining items for sale
October – Murphysburg After Dark History Tour profited around $360 with 37 paying guests and kids that were free totaling about 45 guests * Mary Anne met with a tour planner to promote Murphysburg District
November – Presented the salvaged Jane Chinn monogramed transom to Webb City Area Genealogical Society * Install Christmas wreaths on poles around Thanksgiving at $150 * Received a $3,500 CVB for events between Nov 1, 2025 and Oct 31, 2026 * Annual Meeting
December – Tea & Scandals: An Afternoon Tea with a Twist (and holiday homes tour of the James Dangerfield House) profited $3,000 with 80 guests and 10 volunteer’s. The tea was December 20, tickets were $40 per person
$1,709.00 banners & brackets Wreaths $500.00 Website
$418.00 insurance , about $5,000 to operate HMP for a year
A special thank you to our sponsors and volunteers
Second Annual Murphysburg Treasure Hunt
Help us celebrate Historic Preservation Month in May at the second annual Murphysburg Treasure Hunt, a race to solve riddles, uncover clues, and explore Joplin’s rich history. The event starts at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, 2026—rain or shine—in the west parking lot of Joplin City Hall, 602 S. Main Street.
Your host, Historic Murphysburg Preservation, Inc., has raised the bar this year by adding cash prizes for second and third place!
The event promises to take treasure seekers on an interactive adventure to find iconic historic sites, links to significant events and people, and hidden history stories in the Joplin metro area.
At the start of the event contestants will receive their first riddle to solve that will lead them to a landmark. Once they arrive at the correct location, they will find a QR code. Scanning the code will unlock their next clue that will take them further along the treasure trail. The race continues until someone solves all the clues in the correct order and reaches the final destination—destination—thus claiming the $1,000 prize money! The second-place contestant
will receive $750 and third-place contestant will receive $250.
The treasure hunt is open to participants of all ages. The entry fee is $35 per person.
First place 2025 winners pictured to the right. Far right, Michelle Ferguson from Southwest Missouri Bank met the winners at the final clue to deliver the $1,000 prize!
Register here to start the adventure . People can also pay in person on May 16 starting at 9:00 a.m. at the parking lot on the southeast corner of 6th and Joplin Avenue. For questions contact Paula at paula@murphysburg.org