Celebrating National Historic Districts & Places That Matter

The William H. Smith House

William and Comfort D. (Porter) Smith first came to Joplin in 1874 from Bowling Green, Kentucky and took a job as assistant cashier with the Joplin Savings Bank of East Joplin, the first bank established in Joplin.  But in 1877 the Smiths engaged in the hotel business in Ensenada, Mexico and afterward in banking and merchandising in San Francisco, California. 

The Smith’s returned to Joplin in 1898, and Mr. Smith engaged in the real estate business with John H. Taylor, his brother-in-law.  They were among the most important of the real estate dealers in the city, handling city properties, lands, farms, mining property, and so forth.

  Mr. Smith went on to be the director of the Joplin Trust Company and secretary and treasurer of the Gilchrist Porter Realty Company.  He was also the originator of the Joplin & Pittsburg Railway Company, an electric inter-state line that extended to Pittsburg, Kansas.

Mrs. Smith was the daughter of Gilchrist Porter who was a congressman and a judge.

A daughter named Elenita was born to the couple while residing in Mexico.  Their son, A. Levering, was born in Hannibal, Missouri.

The Edward Zelleken House

Edward Zelleken, a German-born brewer, immigrated to the United States bringing practical knowledge of brewing and coopering. He and Charles Schifferdecker were partners in the brewing business in Baxter Springs, Kansas and made the move to Joplin together in 1875. In Joplin, Zelleken dabbled a little bit in everything, brewing beer, banking, mining, and wholesale groceries to name a few.

His first house was an eight room brick Italianate mansion at the corner of 9th and Pearl Streets which he built in 1882 for $16,000. He and his wife, Margaretha enjoyed many happy years in this elegant house with their six children and it would be the setting for their daughters marriages. The mansion was sold to the Sisters of Mercy around 1887 for their convent, Academy of Our Lady of Mercy. It has since been demolished.

The Zelleken’s second brick house at 406 Sergeant was finished in 1893. The massive brick exterior features projecting bays, a number of porches, and tall chimneys with bulbous chimney pots, decorative terra cotta panels, leaded and stained glass windows and a “Z” above the front door. The interior of the house included such luxuries as marble sinks, elaborate tile work, etched glass in the dining room and dumb waiter. The three-story, 4000 square foot house was admiringly called “an architectural gem…..one of the finest houses in the southwest.” by a reporter the year it was completed.

406 Sergeant has a number of characteristics in common with the Schifferdecker house, with which it shares the block, and the now demolished Porter residence which sat on the northeast corner of the block. All three was built by self-sufficient, self-confident men ready and eager to let the world, or at least Joplin know of their success.

Edward Zelleken (1839-1919) & Margaretha Grome Zelleken (1844-1905)

When Edward settled in Baxter Springs, Kansas, he partnered with Charles Schifferdecker in the brewing business.  Together they made their move to Joplin in 1875 where both became the foremost capitalists and philanthropists of the district and built spectacular homes next door to each other.  Both Edward & Margaretha were born in Germany. 

Worldly success was pleasant, but it could not balance personal tragedy. The latter was no stranger to Edward Zelleken, he suffered the loss of three of his seven children; Willie at the age of 2, daughter, Tillie, died just before her wedding and so was buried in her bridal gown. And, son Frank also died before his father. Another heartache was his oldest daughter, Annie Zelleken Comerford which has her own story further down in the brochure.

Mr. Zelleken died in 1920 and left the house to his daughter Alvina Zelleken Dwyer. Seven of the nine members of Edward Zelleken’s family are buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Webb City, Missouri.

The Zelleken Home is one of Joplin’s three historically significant homes in the Murphysburg Historic District that will become living history museums. More details

The Oliver Shepard Picher House

The Picher name has long been associated with Joplin’s mining history. In 1875, Judge Oliver Hazard “O.H.” Picher (formerly 204 S. Moffet) and his brother William (421 S. Sergeant) organized the Picher Lead and Zinc Co. and in 1887 acquired the Lone Elm Mining and Smelting Company. Judge Picher’s son, Oliver Shepard Picher, succeeded his father as president of the company in 1909. The company merged with Eagle Lead in 1916 and today is known as Eagle-Picher Co. In 1904, Oliver married Emily Stanton.

The interior of the house is the picture of elegance with high wainscoting, stained glass windows, crystal chandeliers, ten-foot vaulted ceilings, six fireplaces, servant’s dumbwaiter and a grand staircase. The exterior also features a colonnaded porch, modillions, Roman Doric columns and more. The windows vary from symmetrical bays, angled bays, tripartite and fanlight.

Built in 1904, Oliver S. Picher’s stately Colonial Adam style home features an entry portico and side porches. The portico’s smooth Roman Doric columns support a balustraded balconet and the ceiling is the traditional color, sky blue. It was a custom of the day to paint the porch ceiling blue to mimic the sky and thus keep birds and wasps from building their nests there.

The George Lavery House

608 S. Sergeant Avenue | circa 1899 | Queen Anne | Feature: Hitching Post

George R. Lavery (Born 1856 ~ Died 1928)
Theresa Sorg Lavery (Born 1866 ~ Died 1959)

George Lavery served as the Deputy County Assessor, Deputy Sheriff, and on the Joplin City
Council in the late 1890s. Early on he was associated with the smelting industry. Later he
was with Cofer and Lavery, purveyors of groceries and dry goods. Both George and
Theresa (George’s third wife) were active in Democratic politics.


Theresa established and operated the Sorg Millinery Shop for 17 years and was a charter
member of the Joplin Woman’s Club. Theresa was very active in social and civic clubs in
Joplin and in 1926 was appointed as one of three democratic election judges.

ARCHITECTURE – This two-and-one-half-story house has a limestone foundation. The
house is an example of the Free Classic subtype of the Queen Anne style. Gabled wings with
pent roofs and imbrication project from the east and south elevations. A hipped wing
projects from the rear (west) elevation. A brick chimney rises from the east slope of the
roof. Dentil molding ornaments the roofline; simple pilasters articulated the corners. A hip
porch spans the primary (east) elevation. It has brick columns on each end and a brick pier
with a turned wood post in the center, and a wood picket railing.

Mr. Lee Taylor

Born February 28, 1837 | Died December 13, 1917
Confederate Soldier | First Elected Mayor of Joplin | Mine Owner
His Second to last home was located in the Murphysburg Historic Residential District at 5th and Byers Avenue

Mr. Lee Taylor

In an era of interpreting how we view or romanticize Joplin’s historical facts related to the American Civil War, and with the understanding that Joplin and Missouri were split politically and morally between the Union and Confederacy, HMP’s philosophy is to look at historical facts with a neutral eye.  In this spirit, HMP does not honor the war, but rather honors the history that shaped our nation, state, and city, plus those who gave of themselves.

Civil War hostilities and blood shed started early in Jasper and Newton Counties with brother against brother – Missouri against Kansas – slave owners against non-slave owners and abolitionists – neighbor against neighbor.  Significant battles occurred at the Sherwood/Rader Farm  northwest of present day Joplin, in Jasper County.

The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 to May 9, 1865) was also known in northern states as the War of the Rebellion and Great Rebellion.  In southern states the war was often times referred to as the War of Northern Aggression, War Between the States, and War for Southern Independence.

One of Joplin’s early settlers after the war was Mr. Lee Taylor.  He was born in Manchester, England on February 28, 1837 and eventually settled in Arkansas.  He entered the Civil War in Washington County (Fayetteville) Arkansas as a Sergeant in the Army of the Confederacy, 34thArkansas Infantry Regiment, Company A, Brook’s Regiment, Fagan’s Brigade.  His rank out was Second Lieutenant.

Many men, and most likely Mr. Taylor, enlisted in the militia for what they were told would be “local protection” duty. But after the draft was imposed by the Confederacy, the militia ended up fighting throughout Arkansas and points south as a member of the Confederate Army.

According to Jim Scott, Murphysburg homeowner and Mr. Taylor’s great grandson, in 1901 Mr. Taylor became a U. S. Citizen. He submitted proof of being married to Mildred Mellisa Wilson, an American citizen, and “…renounced all allegiance and fidelity to Victoria, the queen of Great Britain.”

United Confederate Veterans  –  Mr. Taylor was a member of Jasper County’s Camp No. 522 of the United Confederate Veterans, which was a society organized on May 22, 1894, with forty charter members.  At one time, the camp had 174 ex-Confederate army veterans on its rolls.  They raised money so that former soldiers could live out their lives at Confederate homes, specifically the “Home at Higginsville.” Members erected a monument at the Confederate cemetery in Springfield, Mo. and a monument at Palmyra and Neosho, and held annual picnics and reunions. “…at gatherings the members have lived over the old days that tried men’s souls and have, in memory, sat around the camp fire and recounted the pleasures and the sorrows, the hardships and the recreations of the soldier’s life.”  The Society was part of the state organization. 

Current Historic Sites

One of the monuments still stand in the Neosho I. O. O. F. (a.k.a. Odd Fellows) Cemetery. Look for “The Grey Soldier” statue with the engraving that reads In Memory of Confederate Dead.  Jasper County’s Camp No. 522 contributed $100 toward the monument, which adjusted for inflation is $2,810 in 2018.

The “Home at Higginsville” or Confederate Soldiers Home of Missouri provided comfort and refuge to 1,600 Civil War veterans and their families for nearly 60 years, closing in 1950.  Today, visitors can visit the restored chapel and the Confederate cemetery, as well as three other historic buildings.  The Camp contributed $1000 toward the building, which adjusted for inflation represents $28,100 in 2018.  They also contributed $775 toward its maintenance.

The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.)—a faternal organization of veterans of the Civil War Union Army—also had a prescence in Joplin and Jasper County.  Many early prominent Joplin leaders were members of various G.A.R. posts, one of which was Mr. C. J. G. Workizer.  Interestingly, both GAR and UCV members served together for a common purpose such as board members that initiated the charter request so that Joplin could become a city.

Front Engraving: 1902 |  In Memory of Confederate Dead | Side Engraving: James England, Maker Neosho Mo.

Top Flag:  Third National Flag | aka the “Blood Stained Banner” | adopted March 4, 1865 | Bottom Flag: Missouri State Guard flag during the Civil War

Sources:

  • The History of Jasper County, Missouri, History of Carthage and Joplin, other towns and townships, 1883; Des Moines, Iowa: Mills & Company; Joel T. Livingston. Pages 602, 603