Historic Preservation Month

The Picher name has long been associated with Joplin’s mining history.  In 1875, Judge Oliver Hazard “O.H.” Picher and his brother William organized the Picher Lead and Zinc Co.  The successful company expanded in 1887 when it acquired the Lone Elm Mining and Smelting Co.  Judge Picher’s son, Oliver Shepard Picher (1875-1920) succeeded his father as president of the company in 1909.  Oliver graduated from Stanford University and Columbia University Law School in 1901.  After working for a prominent New York City attorney, Oliver returned to Joplin in 1904 and opened his own law firm, but he eventually went to work for his father’s company.  After Oliver succeeded his father, the company merged with Eagle Lead in 1916. 

Upon Mr. Picher’s death, the Painters Magazine printed, “He was an accountant, metallurgist, a mining engineer, a lawyer, a chemist, a manufacturer, a financier and withal gifted with such rare charm of personality as brought to him literally thousands of friends in the business and technical world.”  He died at his home in Winnetka, Illinois of double pneumonia.

Oliver was married to Emily Stanton Picher (1877-1941) and the couple had four children.  At one point, after her husband’s death, she lived in Hubbard Woods, Illinois.  According to the Joplin Sunday Globe society page, several “informal social courtesies” were extended to Mrs. Picher when she returned to Joplin for a visit in 1937.  Her friends and former neighbors hosted several dinner and luncheon parties at the Sagmount Inn (Resort) in Saginaw, Missouri and in private homes.   She was also honored with a fish fry party at a friend’s lodge near Riverton, Kansas.

The interior of the house is the very picture of elegance with high wainscoting, stained glass windows, crystal chandeliers, eleven-foot vaulted ceilings, six fireplaces, servant’s dumbwaiter, and a grand staircase.  The home retains much of its original character and charm.

Architecture – A colonnaded porch with a screened-in second story projects from the south elevation. A gabled dormer and flanking arched dormers rise from the east slope of the roof. Modillions ornament the roofline. A porch with Doric columns projects from the center of the primary (east) elevation. The second story balcony has square wood piers and a turned wood balustrade. On the second story, look for the small oval leaded glass windows.  The first story has historic tripartite windows with a fanlight above.  The hitching post in the parkway is standing at the ready.   

Adam S. Scott (1851-1937) married Dora A. Hoop Scott (1859-1940) in Ohio before coming to Joplin in 1896 or 1898.  Once in Joplin, Adam was extensively engaged in mining lead and zinc and at one point was the Superintendent of the Tennessee Mining Co.  Adam was active in politics, was the mayor of Wellston, Ohio, and a personal friend and supporter of President William McKinley.  He was also one of the founders of the Chillicothe-Hamilton-Dayton Railroad in Ohio. 

Dora was a schoolteacher before her marriage.  She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, National Congress of Mothers which later became the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (now the National PTA), the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (a liquor prohibition organization) and many more religious and social organizations.  The couple had five children. 

Architecture – The house has bay windows, hipped dormers, and two brick chimneys that rise from the roof ridge.  Fluted pilasters articulate each corner of the house.  Scrolled brackets and dentil molding ornament the roofline.  A sleeping porch, with the same fluted pilasters, dentil molding and brackets, projects from the second story.  The first story has historic tripartite wood windows with leaded glass in the upper sash.  The wood panel door has oval glazing. 

William H. Smith (1854-?) and Comfort D. Porter Smith (1858-?) first came to Joplin in 1874 from Bowling Green, Kentucky.  William took a job as assistant cashier with the Joplin Savings Bank of East Joplin, the first bank established in Joplin.  He was a member of the “Old Settlers’ Association of Joplin” that included pioneer residents and their families.

Mr. Smith went on to be the director of the Joplin Trust Co. and secretary and treasurer of the Gilchrist Porter Realty Co.  He was also one of the originators of the Joplin & Pittsburg Railway Co., an electric inter-state line that extended to Pittsburg, Kansas.  The J&P was the main rival of the Southwest Missouri Railroad, another interurban passenger railway.

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 and William 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. 

Arthur Bradford “A.B.” McConnell (1846-1926) was identified as handling some of the most important and valuable proprieties in early Joplin.  He made a specialty of sub-divisions and platting.  He also became financially interested in mining operations.  In 1919, the Joplin Globe reported “tongue in cheek” that A.B. was reputed by some old settlers to have carried the dirt to make Joplin.  His death notice reported that he was regarded as the dean of Joplin real estate dealers.  His wife, Nancy Jane Patterson McConnell (1842-1901) only lived in the house for one year before passing away.