Celebrating National Historic Districts & Places That Matter

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.

First Place “Team Fischer”
Second Place “Team Zerkel”
Third Place “Team Box”

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!

  1. 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!

Winners of the first Scavenger hunt with Michelle Ferguson from Southwest Missouri Bank to hand them the $1,000 1ts place 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

THE STORY OF EMMA SUE HILLS and MR. SWISS DRIVE-IN

In honor of Women’s History Month and Joplin’s Route 66 Centennial Celebration, Historic Murphysburg Preservation, Inc. is proud to present the story of Dorothy Peck and Emma Sue Hills.  Dorothy and Emma Sue were not famous.  They were not civic activists or talented athletes, but they were successful business owners, managers, cooks, wives, and mothers who served people on “The Mother Road.”

EMMA SUE LEATHERWOOD HILLS

Emma was born on September 21, 1924 in Purcell, Missouri.  Her father passed away when she was only 13 causing her to quit school and go to work at the age of 14 for a pharmacist and his family in Carthage.  As an adult she started working at Meeker (Leather) Co. in Joplin.  One of her tasks was to glue leather billfolds which required bending over for long periods of time in a very hot environment. 

Emma Sue met Hugh Hills at Meeker Co. and they married in 1951.  Together they raised two daughters and one son. 

The long-time owner of Meeker Co., and former mayor of Joplin, was Freeman R. Johnson.  Through the years he came to appreciate how valuable Hugh was to the business and to Mr. Johnson personally.  When Mr. Johnson passed away in 1965, he bequeathed his garden tools and a generous dollar amount to Hugh.  Today Mr. Johnson’s legacy lives on through the Freeman R. Johnson Trust that he set up for the furtherance and development of charities, education, and municipal projects in the Joplin area.  The trust holds well over $1 million in assets.

According to an article on February 8, 1995 in the Joplin Globe, “The building was constructed in 1930 at 1101 East 7th Street on Route 66.  At its prime, Meeker Co. had more than 400 employees and distributed its leather goods to stores in 50 states and some foreign countries.  That work force dwindled to about 10 employees before the plant shut down in 1987.”  The building was razed in 1995. 


MR. SWISS COMES to 635 West 7th Street

One day Emma Sue’s nephew came to her and Hugh asking them to co-sign on a loan so he could buy a Mr. Swiss franchise in Joplin.  The Hills honored his request, but soon it became evident that the nephew was not a good business operator, therefore, in 1967 Emma Sue and Hugh decided to take over the Mr. Swiss operation.  Hugh visited the creditors and promised to pay them back in full, which he did.  

The Hills ran the restaurant for 20 years, first as a Mr. Swiss and then as Hillbilly Hills when Mr. Swiss went out of business.  The restaurant closed in 1987.  Currently the building, with its distinctive A-frame architecture, is extant and waiting for a new life. On August 16, 2007 at the age of 82, Emma Sue passed away at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, now known as Mercy Hospital.

DIVERSITY and KINDNESS on ROUTE 66

The Hills were generous to youngsters who stopped in.  Hugh would give kids a paper sack and tell them to help themselves to ice cream treats made at the store that were sold from a freezer case.  However, at times Emma Sue would need to remind her husband that they were running a for-profit business. Hugh passed away on April 22, 2025 at the age of 99.

Just like the Peck children, daughter Conni started working at Mr. Swiss at 15 years old, daughter Cathy at 13 years old, and son Tom at 12 years old.  When Hugh opened a second Mr. Swiss at 130 N. Range Line Road, Emma Sue took over supervising the 7th Street location.  The family worked hard seven days a week but did find time for some fun.  Conni Hills Lipe remembers that employees of the 7th Street location would come over to the Range Line location for occasional water balloon fights. 
The Hills understood that being community minded was also good advertising.  The Hills frequently sponsored pee wee teams, women’s and men’s softball teams, and men’s bowling teams.  The team’s name was Joplin Mr. Swiss or Mr. Swiss.  Around the 1970s it was common for such teams to be named for their sponsors, usually that of local businesses. 

SPAGHETTI RED

Pictured: The famous Fred & Red’s Spaghetti Red

*Spaghetti Red is spaghetti noodles topped with a slow cooked meat sauce.  The sauce is a type of chili without beans.  The plate is served with optional dill pickles, sliced onions, grated parmesan cheese, and ketchup.  The sauce does not have tomatoes but is prepared with William’s Chili Seasoning (invented in Joplin) and crushed up soda crackers that soak up the meat grease. Yummy!  Recipes vary and are closely guarded.  Spaghetti Red is still served on alignments of Route 66 in Joplin.  You can enjoy a plate at Fred & Red’s, 1719 S. Main Street and at Stogey’s Coney Island, 2629 E. 7th Street.

When “No Reservations” television food host Anthony Bourdain (1956-2018) came to Joplin in 2010 he stopped at Fred & Red’s.  The episode aired in March 2011.  After sampling a plate of Spaghetti Red, he announced it was “heart attack on a plate.”  OK—so what’s your point Anthony?

Mr. Swiss Menu
Mr. Swiss Menu

After Emma Sue’s death in 2007, Hugh remained active with his lawn service.  Just like Dorothy, Hugh also miraculously survived the Joplin tornado.  He sheltered in a bedroom closet!  Unfortunately, his house, photographs, and his Mr. Swiss mementos were destroyed.  Seven days after the tornado, President Barack Obama toured Joplin and spoke to Hugh in front of his destroyed house.  A photograph with the President and Hugh can still be viewed by searching “Joplin tornado” on Wikipedia.

Dylan Hills shaking President Obama’s hand.

Final Thoughts
Travel writer Sage Scott said it best, “The iconic Mother Road wouldn’t be what it is today without the women who helped shape it.  From musicians and motel owners to restaurateurs and preservationists, their contributions continue to inspire every traveler who sets out on America’s most famous highway.”