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William Edward “Billy” Cook was born into a life of violence. It was a hard-luck life that would carry him all the way to the Death Chamber and beyond. He was executed at California’s San Quentin prison before he was 25 years old. Is Badman Billy Cook buried in an unmarked grave just outside of Peace Church Cemetery as local rumors have suggested? Will his spirit ever find peace?

In November 1951, a jury found Billy Cook guilty in only 50 minutes. Cook received the death sentence with a smirk on his lips and hate in his heart. “I hate everybody’s guts.” he said, “and everybody hates mine.” Billy Cook gave them hell all the way to the end. He refused to speak with clergymen or the hordes of eager reporters. He denied everyone just because they hoped to get a last minute exclusive with the condemned killer.

Badman Bill Cook was buried at night in Peace Cemetery according to the headline of a 1952 Joplin Globe story. Cook’s graveside service was held under the cover of darkness to avoid attention. The service was officiated by Rev. Dow Booe of nearby Galena and lasted only 10 minutes. “Brief service held at night with aid of flashlights and lanterns before about 15 persons;” “Funeral cortege, consisting of four cars and hearse, moves to burial place over back roads,” the sub-headlines read. “Just as the graveside rites ended,” Wallace wrote, “the cry of a small child could be heard in the chill of the night air.”

Billy Cook in Popular Media

The Billy Cook case inspired the 1953 film classic The Hitch-Hiker, which details the final leg of Cook’s saga in Mexico and, twenty years later, would be the basis for the Doors’ Top Twenty hit from 1971, “Riders on the Storm,” included on their LP L.A. Woman (“If you give this man a ride / Sweet family will die…”). It was the last song the band would ever record.

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.

 SOUTHWEST MISSOURI RAILROAD CLUBHOUSE 

115 N. Madison, Webb City, Mo. Spanish Mission Style | circa 1910 ...

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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 ...

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Mr. Charles Schifferdecker

A lot can be said about Mr. Schifferdecker, one of Joplin’s most prominent citizens of his time. Originally from Baden, Germany, Mr. Schifferdecker worked with Mr. Edward Zelleken at Zelleken’s brewery and later the two opened a bottling business, then established a wholesale beer and ice business in Joplin.  Mr. Schifferdecker quickly moved on to the more lucrative banking and mining ventures ...

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David Castle Tandy

If you own land in the Murphysburg Historic Residential District, specifically in Section 3, or land in other Joplin Sections 7, 10, 11 or 14, you might have seen the name of David C. Tandy on your abstract as the “original” owner of the land ...

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The Tale of Joplin’s Two United Service Organizations (USO) during World War II

The multi-level building at 306-312 South Wall Avenue borders the Historic Murphysburg Residential District on the east side of Pearl. During World War II, the building housed the United Service Organization (USO) offices and recreation center.  ...

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War Timeline:

American Revolution | 1776 to Treaty of Paris September 3, 1783

War of 1812 | Conflict between the U.S. and Great Britain from 1812 to 1815

Mexican War | Conflict between the U.S. and Mexico | 1846 to 1848

American Civil War | April 12, 1861 and ended by proclamation on May 9, 1865

Spanish-American War | April 21, 1898 to Paris Peace Treaty on December 10, 1898

World War I aka the Great War | 1914 to 1918 | America enters the war 1917 | Armistice was November 11, 1918 | Treaty of Versailles outlines the terms in 1919

World War II | Began in 1939 as a European conflict, but then widened to include most of the nations of the world | U.S. declares war on Japan, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania in December 1941 | War ends May 8, 1945