Celebrating National Historic Districts & Places That Matter

Happy 151 Birthday Joplin!

In 1871, John C. Cox, a Tennessean who had settled in the area in the late 1830s, laid Gout a seventeen-acre town site on a rise east of Joplin Creek. He christened his new town “Joplin City,” memorializing the Rev. Harris G. Joplin, a Methodist missionary who had also ssettled in the area in the 1830s. The same year, Patrick Murphy, Elliot Moffet, and W. P. Davis acquired forty acres on the west side of Joplin Creek and laid out Murphysburg. Both of the settlements grew rapidly and in 1872 merged to create Union City, a name which was short-lived since in 1873 the state legislature re-defined the municipal boundaries of Union City and chartered the reconstituted settlement as Joplin.

JOPLIN IS BORN MARCH 23, 1873! 

Information from “A History of Jasper County and its People” chapter XVIII, published in 1912 by Joel Thomas Livingston.

January, 1873, found the two towns without a local government, save the constable and justice of the peace, and both East and West Joplin immediately took steps towards establishing a municipality. 

At a special meeting of the county court, held January 11, 1873, two towns were organized-Joplin, including the territory east of the creek, and Murphysburg, that portion which was west of the little stream that divided the two towns. 

The board of trustees of Joplin (East Town) comprised the following members: John Allington, J. A. Thompson, J. W. Clehouse, Lee Taylor and P. A. Luster. John Allington was elected president of the board, and G. D. Jackson was appointed clerk, D. P. Ballard, attorney and F. L. Thompson, treasurer. 

The trustees of Murphysburg were E. R. Moffet, D. M. Breazeale, J. C. Gaston, J. H. McCoy and John S. Workizer. G. D. Orner was appointed attorney, J. W. Lupton, marshal, M. W. Stafford, treasurer and C. J. G. Workizer, clerk.

JOPLIN’S BIRTHDAY 

Hon. John H. Taylor and T. M. Dorsey presented the draft to the general assembly then in session and C. C. Alien of Carthage, state senator from the district, lent valuable aid in securing its passage. The bill became a law March 23, 1873, and from that date Joplin legally dates its birth. 

At the date of its incorporation Joplin had approximately four thousand inhabitants. To give an idea of its continued growth, we mention that during January and February four more smelters had been built, making seventeen lead furnaces then running at full blast both day and night. Up to that time no streets had been graded, or sidewalks built, and the general contour of the town was as nature had made it. In fact, like ancient Rome, Joplin sat upon its seven hills; but here the similarity ends, for there was no great Appian way or massive palaces of marble and bronze-only the well-beaten roads which necessity had made and a thousand or more small box-houses and tents.

UNION MOVEMENT STARTED 

During the meantime, however, a movement was launched to secure a special charter from the legislature and incorporate the two towns as one, many of the people feeling that as in “union there is strength,” so, as the interests of the two towns were similar, better results could be obtained if all worked in harmony for the same ends. Accordingly a mass meeting was called to talk over the matter of incorporation and a united and better Joplin. 

Pat Murphy, the father of Murphysburg, suggested that the united city should be called Joplin, thus yielding gracefully to the east side the sentiment of a name. The following committee was appointed to draft a proposed charter: 

East Joplin-J. A. C. Thompson, John Allington, Lee Taylor, P. A. Luster, J. W. Clehouse and John H. Taylor. Murphysburg-E. R. Moffet, J. H. McCoy, J. C. Gaston, J. S. Workizer, D. I. Breazeale and P. Murphy. The committee employed Judge I. W. Davis put in form their ideas relative to the government of the city and he drafted the law which gave Joplin its corporate power. 

Save the East Joplin school building, a brick store on Broadway and the unfinished Cumberland Presbyterian church, all of the buildings were of wood. It will be seen, therefore, that the officers who were to assume the reins of government had a mighty task. They must bring order out of chaos and give to the good citizens protection; they must grade the streets, beautify the town and devise ways and means for the accomplishment of these great objects. 

The first officers of the new Joplin were appointed by the governor and he very appropriately named E. R. Moffet, one of the men who sunk the first shaft, as mayor. J. A. C. Thompson, Lee Taylor, J. H. McCoy and J. C. Gaston was named as councilmen. The other officers were: J. W. Lupton, marshal; I. W. Davis, police judge; G. D. Orner, city attorney; Philo Thompson, treasurer and T. A. McClelland, city assessor. These officers held until October 14th (the second Tuesday), when the first general election occurred. 

THE SPIRIT OF JOPLIN

The following article, published in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, February 14th, very correctly presents the condition in Joplin as they existed at the time of the incorporation:

The memorial which has been prepared for presentation to the Legislature, to secure the incorporation of the towns of Murphysburg and Joplin, illustrates better than anything else the rapid development of the lead-mining district of which these towns are the center. Murphysburg and Joplin are two thriving hamlets situated in the southwestern part of Jasper county. They are divided only by a narrow gulch, the valley of a mineral washing stream, and for all practical purposes are one town. Jealousy over the name, and a struggle for priority of location, have, however, divided them, and to some extent injured their prosperity. By an overwhelming vote, these differences have now been buried, and as soon as the Legislature responds favorably to the petition for incorporation-which we hope will be at an early day there will be one city with a single and harmonious government. Within the Joplin mining district, which is less than two miles square, there has, in a short space of fifteen months, grown up a settlement of more than five thousand permanent inhabitants, besides a large transient population. The reason of the rapid growth of the towns appears from the fact that, while the entire amount of pig lead received in St. Louis for the year 1872, from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and all Missouri, except Joplin, was about $19,000,000, the yield of Joplin alone was $6,000,000, or nearly one-third of the entire receipts. In addition to this, new mines are being opened, old ones worked deeper, and richer and more extensive deposits of the ore are being found. It is therefore reasonably expected that the products of these mines for the year 1873 will reach from $16,000,000, to $18,000,000, which will be a yield of at least one-half of the lead shipped to St. Louis, the great lead market of the United States, from four of the largest lead-producing States in the Union. Outside of this famous “Joplin district,” and within a radius of five miles, taking the two towns as the center, there are not less than ten mines whose lead is now being taken in paying quantities. 

This exhibit is not only interesting as an indication of what has already been accomplished, but is of incalculable worth as an example to other localities where the natural advantages are equally as great, but which lack the pluck and the industry that have been the conspicuous characteristics of the Joplinites. The latter have worked under more than ordinary disadvantages. The tract is shut in from the railroads and from the productive gardens by a wide belt of gloomy, sterile land. The people have lacked capital all along, and they lack it now. They need it to open the yet untouched mineral land; they need money to bring in more steam engines for pumping purposes, to enable poor miners, who have rich prospects, to work their claims to an advantage below the water line; they should have and at once, a white-lead factory in the midst of the mines to consume the lead produced to save the enormous sum annually paid for transportation; they need ready funds to erect dwellings for labors, and to carry out a dozen other enterprises, for the lack of which the city suffers. But while they have lacked the capital they have possessed abundant nerve, and this has pulled them through. It is reasonable to expect that within a few years Joplin will be one of the wealthiest communities in Missouri. 

A score of other counties in this State need to be Joplinized. There is lead elsewhere, there is coal ready to be mined, there are acres upon acres of iron waiting to be coaxed from its half-hiding places, and the exhaustless deposits of rare ores which would richly repay development. 

E. R. Moffet, the first mayor of Joplin, at the date of his induction into the executive chair was in the prime of life. He was a man of vigorous action and thought and naturally acted quickly. Having seen the city grow from its infancy, he was greatly attached to its people and its industries. He strove to execute the law in such a manner that the town would be morally uplifted, and, at the same time appreciating the conditions which surround the mining industry, tempered justice with mercy. During his administration the foundation was laid for a number of public improvements, among them the organization of a fire department, the establishment of a system of street improvements and the devising a plan for raising public funds, which was perhaps at this time After passing ordinances relative to disturbances of the peace and general welfare of the city, the first great task was to provide for its finances.

JOPLIN CITY SCRIP

When the new city government was instituted, it had, of course, no treasury. There could not, until almost a year, be a collection of any of the taxes which would be assessed during the succeeding summer, and there was nothing immediately in sight in the way of revenue accepting licenses which could be collected from tie merchants and the fines which would be assessed, from time to time, against the offenders of the law. 

For the two-fold purpose of raising money to meet the immediate expense necessary to carry out the functions of local government and also to serve as a medium of exchange to replace the United States currency

which was rapidly going into hiding on account of the panic which was paralyzing the business interest of the county, the city council issued ten thousand dollars in city script and used this in. paying its obligations. This substitute for money passed readily among the miners and business men of Joplin and was accepted at the Joplin financial institutions and big mining concerns at par, although the banks of Carthage, Baxter and other nearby towns refused to take it. 

The council had not full authority of law to issue this script, but the necessities of the hour gave it a semi-legal force and a full moral sanction and after the panic the city redeemed every dollar of its outstanding”, make-shift money.

MAIN STREET IN WEST JOPLIN GRAVELED 

The first street in Joplin to be worked was Main street in West Joplin, During the summer of 1873 the property owners petitioned the city council to grade and gravel Main street. The work was paid for by popular subscriptions, Messrs. P. Murphy and E. D. Porter each gave one hundred dollars toward the enterprise.

JOPLIN AND GALENA TOWNSHIPS 

In May, 1873, the county court redistricted the county into municipal townships and the city of Joplin was divided, East Joplin being in Dubuque, later Joplin township, and West Joplin in Galena township. The dividing line between the two townships was the alley east of Main street in West Joplin. This arrangement caused great excitement in West Joplin, for the reason that at least one-third of the population of that place was in the east side township. To settle the controversy the county court visited Joplin and, after viewing the situation and seeing the conditions, changed the boundary line to Joplin creek. 

MINING AND SMELTING 

During 1873 seventeen lead smelters were operated, three of them being neutral smelters purchasing the lead in the open market. The following were the principal smelters: Moffet & Sergeant, Joplin Creek valley. 

Davis & Murphy, A and Joplin; then a well defined valley and on either side a branch, which after a good rain swelled to the dignity of a creek. 

J. M. & S. Co.’s smelters, Kansas City Bottom; just east of the big hill where now is the residence of Chris Guergerich. Corn & Thompson, neutral smelter; furnace and railway at East Joplin. Hannibal L. & Z. Co., at the head of the Pitcher ditch. Dorsey & Porter, at foot of Swindle hill. Granby smelter, Lone Elm. 

The Pitcher Furnace between Swindle hill and Parr hill. The Lone Elm Mining Co., smelter; now the White Lead Works. West Joplin L. & Z. Co.; afterward the zinc works. In the fall of 1873 there was a slight decline in the ore market, due to the panic and general business depression, and lead took a slump from five to seven cents per pound. This was a great blow to the miners and, with the high cost of living, royalty and pump rent, many miners threatened to quit. 

The Pitchers were the first to relieve the situation and, with the far sighted and liberal business policy which has characterized them in their dealing with the miners from the first, they reduced the royalty on their land and pumped the water from the mines free. The other companies quickly followed suit and in an incredibly short time mining conditions were normal and the work of developing the district went merrily on.

ZINC 

Early in the spring of 1873 C. F. Mugge, zinc buyer of LaSalle, Illinois, visited Joplin and urged the miners to pay more attention to the mining of “jack” and to save that which was being thrown out on the dump piles. He bought a small quantity of zinc at $5.00 per ton, but the price paid was a small inducement to the miners and little attention was paid to it until the fall of the year when Chris Guenerich, representing Matthiessen & Hegeler, and John Immel, agent for the Illinois Zinc Company, appeared in the field and a sharp competition for the blende was begun. Mr. Guenerich raised the price of zinc for first-class ore to nine dollars per ton and immediately the jack in the dump piles, which before had “looked like thirty cents,” figuratively speaking, now was much sought for and it may properly be said with the coming of Messrs. Guenerich & Immel the zinc industry of Jasper county came into prominence.

OPENING OF EAST JOPLIN SCHOOLS 

The new schoolhouse was completed in the middle of January, 1873. and was formally opened and dedicated January 21st by appropriate exercises. G. D. Jackson acted as chairman of the meeting and after invocation by Rev. Gutton, agent of the Congregational Home Missionary Society, remarks were made by U. B. Webster (county superintendent) J. A. C. Thompson, John H. Taylor, John C. Cox, D. P. Ballard and Professor Dickey, of the Carthage schools, who made the address of the evening. S. B. Ormsby, who had been selected by the board to be principal of the school, read an original poem depicting the life and activities of the mining town. A supper which was served by the ladies of East Joplin, for the purpose of purchasing desks for the school, netted $102.50.

THE BANK OF JOPLIN 

In May, 1873, Messrs. Moffet & Sergeant and W. F. Botkins, a banker at Baxter Springs, organized the Bank of Joplin, E. R. Moffet was chosen as president and W. F. Botkins, cashier. Ralph Muir, the iceman, was the first depositor. This bank continued in business until the early ‘eighties, when the Miners’ Bank absorbed the holdings of this institution. 

The establishment of the Bank of Joplin gave to the west side better facilities for the transaction of business and at this particular time played a most important part, for it saved Joplin from the financial disaster which swept the country generally in the panic of 1873. The Bank of Joplin accepted at par the script which the city had issued and also established a sort of a credit due bill which served as a medium of exchange. To illustrate: When the money went out of sight the companies were forced to give due bills in part payment for the ore; these due bills were accepted as cash at the bank, and on these credits, drafts were sold, checks honored and the business of the community carried on. 

Another simple medium of facilitating trade was as follows: The miners had the lead and at this time the ore had a fixed value, five cents per pound. Every merchant had a lead box in his store and accepted small quantities of lead ore in payment for groceries, clothing and other necessaries. To illustrate: Mr. Jones, a miner, wanted to buy half a dollar’s worth of sugar; he brought ten pounds of mineral to the store and thus paid for it. The grocer dumped this, with other mineral, into his ore box, and when he had 1,000 pounds or more sold it to one of the smelters and received in payment a check on the bank which he deposited and took credit for; and thus it happened that while all over the state and country fortunes were swept away, Joplin grew and prospered. 

EXHIBIT AT WORLD’S FAIR, VIENNA 

In March 1873, Joplin was honored by the imperial government of Austria with an invitation to make an exhibit of its mineral products at the World’s Fair to be held at its capital, Vienna. 

Hon. John H. Taylor was selected by the United States government to represent it in the capacity of one of the commissioners representing the mining industry, and gathered from the district a fine display of mineral specimens which were sent to the fair, but owing to the illness of his mother Mr. Taylor did not attend in person.

THE FIRST CITY ELECTION 

On Tuesday, October 14, 1873, the first election for officers under the new charter took place, and, although non-political, was hotly contested, some thirty candidates being in the field for the several offices to be filled. In the early days of the city, and until 1889, the political parties did not make nominations. There was an open field and the people voted for their personal friends, or for the man who, in their judgment, was best fitted for the place. 

The contest for mayor was very close and resulted in the election of Lee Taylor. Mr. Taylor was a mining superintendent and exceedingly popular with the people of East Joplin. Mr. Moffet was also much loved by the people of the west side. East Joplin voted almost solidly for Taylor and West Joplin almost solidly for Moffet. Lone Elm decided the fate of the day by casting a few more votes for Taylor than Moffet, and thus according to him the honor of being the first elected mayor of Joplin. Mr. Taylor made a vigorous executive and gave much of his time to the city. During the troublesome times of the Lupton riot, he stood firm, and, emulating the general he followed during the Civil war, stood like a stone-wall and held back the angry mob. Business conditions arose during the latter part of his administration which demanded his full time and he resigned before the close of the term. Councilman J. H. McCoy, of the Second ward, filled out the unexpired term. 

Lee Taylor

E.R Moffet

J. W. McAntire, the city attorney, was elected by the largest majority of any of the candidates, defeating four aspirants for the place. An incident is told relative to this campaign which shows how the miners of the early day, and for that matter those of the present, always help the young men of the legal profession who are struggling to rise. When J. W. McAntire first came to Joplin he took desk-room with D. P. Ballard and attended to the little odds and ends of the law business which came to the office. When East Joplin was organized as a town in January, 1873, many of the friends of J. W. McAntire, then just admitted to the bar and a promising young lawyer, suggested his name for attorney of the new town and Mr. Ballard, in whose office Mr. McAntire had his desk, volunteered to present Mr. McAntire’s name to the town board. With that modesty which had always characterized Mr. McAntire, he kept in the background and as the politicians say “put himself in the hands of his friends.” When the board met Mr. Ballard suggested Mr. McAntire’s name, but when one of the board called attention to Mr. McAntire’s youth and inexperience, in place of setting forth the energy and studiousness of his protege, he arose and said it was true that Mr. McAntire had no experience and was as yet an “untried neophyte” and that if the board thought, in their wisdom, that an older head was more to be desired, he would take the appointment. 

The next day when Mr. McAntire learned how his friend had taken from him the plum, he moved his office to another building and began the practice of law on his own hook and depended entirely on his own resources. When the story went round among the boys John McAntire’s stock rose and likewise his law practice, and so at the election of 1873 the citizens, by an overwhelming vote, expressed their confidence in the young attorney. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge, to which Mr. McAntire belonged, also voted for him almost to a man.

CHURCHES IN 1873

On Sunday, February 2, 1873, Rev. Gutton, of the Congregational Church Extension Society, preached in Joplin and began laying the foundation for a Congregational church. Mr. Gutton labored in and around Joplin the greater part of the year, preaching at the homes of members of his congregation or in public halls when they could be secured. A church organization was not effected, however, until 1876, a mention of which will be made in the chapter on the Middle ‘Seventies. 

The First Presbyterian church of Joplin was organized in East Joplin in December, 1873. The officiating minister was the Rev. Benjamin F. Powelson. The organization was effected in a little hall located on Mineral street. There were eleven corporate members of whom we are able at this writing to name the following: John H. Taylor, Mr. J. W. and Mrs. Della Gordon, Mr. H. A. and Mrs. M. A. Clippenger, Mrs. A. V. Allen, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Adkins.

Mrs. A. V. Allen is the only charter member now alive, and has been a most faithful worker in the church. For twenty-five consecutive years, save one, she was the president of the Ladies Society and during the thirty-eight years of the church’s existence has been a regular attendant at its services

John H. Taylor did much for the church in a financial way, and when the clouds hung dark over the little congregation always found a way to tide them over the rough seas of financial disaster. 

The minister placed in charge of the new church was ‘Squire Glascock. He was commissioned by the Board of Home Missions and occupied the place for about three years. 

About the time of the organization of the Presbyterian Society the people of the Methodist Church South built a house of worship in East Joplin at the corner of John and Hill streets. Not being able to pay for it, Mr. Taylor bought a half interest and presented it to the Presbyterian church. The two denominations occupied the building jointly, holding services alternate Sundays until 1876. 

The church building, which was used jointly by the South Methodists and Presbyterians, was a very pretty little church and stood on the northern slope of the East Joplin hill on John street. It was furnished with pews and appropriate church furniture. After the Cumberland Presbyterian church disposed of its edifice to the West Joplin school district, most of the members of that denomination joined the first church and affiliated with them. 

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day,

Historic Murphysburg Preservation honors Mr. Thomas Connor (1847-1907) and Mr. Patrick Murphy, Joplin’s most famous Irishmen.

THOMAS CONNOR & PATRICK MURPHY

Thomas Connor

A lot has been written about Thomas Connor and his prominent role in advancing the city of Joplin and his philanthropic endeavors. He became a millionaire in the mining business, buying acreage that contained enormous lead and zinc deposits, of which he leased to prospectors. He was elected to the Missouri Senate in 1907 but passed away before taking office. He is most notably known for building Joplin’s most iconic landmarks of its time— the Connor Hotel at Fourth and Main Street. Tom passed away before seeing the hotel’s
completion in 1908. In the forward of the book “Joplin’s Connor Hotel,” Brad Belk said, “No building in Joplin, Missouri, stood grander than the Connor Hotel. This once-proud landmark was a civic monument—a center of communal life where a lifetime of special memories were nostalgically savored.” The Connor was razed in 1978.

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy’s story began in County Monaghan, Ireland, where he was born on January 6, 1839 to Michael and Margaret Murphy.  Tragically, in 1845, Ireland was struck by the Great Famine, a catastrophic event that led to the death of a million people and forced another million to emigrate, primarily to the United States.  The Murphy family, which included five surviving children, was among those who left Ireland, arriving in Philadelphia following a six-week voyage.  

The family settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1849 where Patrick engaged in agricultural pursuits and attended the common schools.  His education was largely acquired from experience and hence is of a practical nature.  In 1859 he left Pennsylvania and acquired even more experience throughout the United States before coming to the Joplin area.

Thomas Connor

Tom married Melissa Wilcox (also spelled Milissa, Malissa, and Malassa) in 1874 or 1873.
She was born on April 12, 1851, in Ohio and died in 1928. She and Tom had no biological
children. Her story is very unique and can be read in Chad Stebbin’s book—see footnote.
Some of Tom’s philanthropic legacies that continue today include:


* $5,000 to the Handy Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church at 311 W. 4 th Street
to replace their dilapidated frame structure with brick. His name is still engraved above
the front door.
* $20,000 toward building St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, 812 S. Pearl Avenue.
Tom never lived to see its completion.
* Bequeathed $100,000 to the City of Joplin to help the poor. Every year the city
transfers the interest income earned to the Health Department. In 2019, the earnings
were $5,198.
* Tom’s nephew and business associate, Thomas Connor Nolan received $10,000 (worth
$358,624 today) as a wedding present when he married Margaret Lawder in 1902. It
is believed that it was used to either build and or furnish the house that proudly stands
today at 106 S. Moffet Avenue in the Murphysburg Historic District.

St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church
Nolan House
Nolan House
The Handy AME Chapel

Mr. Connor died on March 29, 1907 at Dr. Moody’s Sanitarium in San Antonio, Texas after becoming ill in early November. Supposedly, Tom went to Texas to recover from his ailments by seeking a warmer climate than Missouri could offer. He and Melissa are buried next to each other in Tiffin, Ohio.

Below are excerpts from the book *“Tom Connor: Joplin’s Millionaire Zinc King” by Chad
Stebbins that focus on Mr. Connor’s Irish background.

Although born in Ireland, Thomas Connor lived the classic American rags-to riches story. Described as a “self-made man,” he seemed to have the Midas touch – especially when it came to buying acreage that contained enormous rich lead and zine deposits.

Born to James and Katherine O’Connor on August 10, 1847, on a five-acre tenant farm in County Kerry, Ireland, he was the youngest of four children. The three-room tenement cottage, although fairly large by contemporary standards, was stretched beyond capacity with 14 other occupants. Had Tom’s birth not come in the middle of the Irish Potato Famine, Joplin might never have had its famous [Connor] Hotel.


The potato blight brought untold misery to the country. One million died of starvation or the diseases associated with the famine, and another million emigrated to North America or parts of England. Between 1846 and 1850, the population of Ireland dropped by 25 percent. In the O’Connor household, where it was a “ceaseless, heartless, remorseless grind, with never a beam of light piercing through the dismal clouds in promise of a better day.”


In 1851, the O’Connor family left Cork City, Ireland and landed in New York City on May 27, and then settled in Tiffin, Ohio. Tom’s father died two [or possibly six or seven] years later. Although opportunities for women were rare in those days, his mother managed to find enough odd jobs to keep her family fed. Sitting around the kitchen stove, she would entertain the children with stories about their old home in Kerry while she sewed, darned, or patched various articles of clothing. Tom, in particular was fascinated by these tales of Irish folklore, the ancient round towers, Druid priests, Celtic kings and castles, witches and goblins, and the great Irish political leader Daniel O’Connell. And yet, which his 1914 biographer found “surprisingly strange,” Tom could never be persuaded years later to pay a visit to his native Ireland.


…Tom met General Patrick Edward Connor, who, like Tom, had been born in County Kerry, Ireland. Tom as thrilled to meet a countryman, let alone a hero of the Mexican-American War and the American Indian Wars. It was after encountering Connor that Tom decided to drop the O from O’Connor – just as the general had done years before to seem more American. In Irish names, O means “coming from” or “the family of.” [Tom’s relatives did not drop the O from their names.]

*HMP thanks author and fellow historian Chad Stebbins for letting us share Tom Connor’s Irish roots via two of his books published in 2021. “Tom Connor: Joplin’s Millionaire Zinc King” along with the companion book, “Joplin’s Connor Hotel” are available for sale at Joplin Walgreen stores.

Patrick Murphy

The Murphy family settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1849 where Patrick engaged in agricultural pursuits and attended the common schools.  His education was largely acquired from experience and hence is of a practical nature.  In 1859 he left Pennsylvania and acquired even more experience throughout the United States before coming to the Joplin area.

In July 1871 John C. Cox laid out a town east of Joplin Creek and named it “Joplin” after Reverend Harris Joplin who settled in the area.  On September 4, 1871 a 40-acre tract west of Joplin Creek was platted by Patrick Murphy and others and they named it “Murphysburg.”  On March 23, 1873 the two cities merged and incorporated under the name of Joplin.  The Missouri Governor appointed Elliot R. Moffet to serve as mayor.  

Mr. Murphy was a merchant, mine operator, businessman, and capitalist.  His accomplishments are the result of Joplin becoming a formidable, organized city.  He established a newspaper, banks, hotels, the city waterworks, woolen mills, railway systems, lead & zinc mining companies, and much more. He was Joplin’s fourth mayor.  

The public held Mr. Murphy in such high regard that when he died, the entire community was in mourning and many institutions closed.  The cortege consisted of a band, a hearse drawn by four black horses, 100 marching pioneers, the Knights Templar in uniform, the Elks Club, and many citizens in carriages.  Originally he was buried at Fairview Cemetery, but later when Mount Hope Cemetery was completed, he and his mother were moved to the Founders Circle at Mt. Hope.

Patrick Murphy
Murphy Mansion 4th & Wall

Patrick was married to Isabel “Belle” Workizer Murphy (1847-1904) and they had five children that lived to adulthood. 
Some of this information was taken from “The History of Jasper County, Missouri”   

Baby in the Bushes

FOR WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH, WE PRESENT A MYSTERY IN MURPHYSBURG

In honor of March as Women’s History Month, we bring forward a true unsolved mystery set in Joplin’s Murphysburg Historic District.

It was a dry 71-degree summer night on July 11, 1945 at 10:20 p.m. in what is now Joplin’s Murphysburg Historic District.  World War II in Europe had just ended with Germany surrendering on May 8, 1945.  The conflict in the Pacific (Ocean) Theater would soon end when Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945.  

On this particular Wednesday night, Mrs. Jennie Potlitzer was at her home at 219 South Sergeant Avenue with her sister, Mrs. Ruth Weil, and a nurse, Mrs. Don Sanford.  Jennie had suffered with a heart condition since 1933, which could explain the presence of a nurse at such a late hour.  Jennie’s husband, George had passed away 14 months earlier.  The Potlitzer’s daughter, Mildred was living in St. Louis, and son, Sidney was living here at the home.  

Ruth was also believed to be widowed sometime between 1935 and 1939 and was visiting Jennie on this fateful night.  Ruth’s son, Edward Weil, Jr. was in the army and would not rejoin his mother in Joplin until his discharge in January 1946.  But surely a nurse and two loving mothers were perfectly capable of managing the situation that was about to unfold.

Mrs. Sanford heard a child crying outside, so the three ladies went to investigate.  They found a blue-eyed, red-haired baby girl, not more than eight weeks old, hidden in the shrubbery!  The child was well bundled and at its side were clothing, baby powder, oil, and other needs for its care.  Most likely the baby would have been shielded from view of passing traffic due to the jagged-top, three-foot high stone wall that surrounded the property.

Baby Abandoned in the Bushes

Of course, the police were summoned.  City Detectives W. D. Holladay and Roy Isgrigg took the baby to Dr. V. E. Kenney, the city health commissioner.  He determined the baby was healthy in all respects.  The baby was then taken to the home of Reverend William Kelley, the county juvenile and probation officer, who would decide, along with Juvenile Judge Woodson Oldham, what to do with her.  Mrs. Kelley looked after the care of the child.  Dr. C. C. Coats, the city physician, also examined the infant and said she appeared to be a perfectly normal baby.

The next day more than 50 Joplin families offered to adopt the abandoned baby—telephone calls bombarded the juvenile office and the Kelley’s home.  However, Reverend Kelley remained hopeful that the mother would change her mind and claim the child, which he believed would be the best solution.                                

The Joplin Globe’s headline on July 13th was “Clew to Identity of Baby Obtained.”  (see sidebar) The first rumor investigated by the county probation office was that the baby could belong to a 15-year-old Webb City girl—but that soon fizzled out. The Joplin Globe’s headline on July 14th was “Police Work on New Clew to Identity of Baby Abandoned Here.”  The second rumor was provided by a Neosho physician claiming

to have delivered a baby girl to a 17-year-old McDonald County girl seven weeks earlier.  Police Chief Henry Vermillion and Newton County Sheriff Cline visited the mother of the girl, who said her daughter had taken the baby and left July 3 to visit her father in California.  On July 14th, via a telegram from California authorities, the red-headed baby in question was found to be safe with the suspected young mother in California. Headline reads, “Message from West Voids Baby Case Clew.”

On September 5, 1945 the Joplin Globe reported “Abandoned Baby Redhead” to be thriving, healthy, happy, and growing at the home of her foster parents.  The baby was to remain a legal ward of the juvenile court for at least two years unless the real parents appeared and could establish parenthood to the satisfaction of the court.  After that, she could be legally adopted, probably into the foster home where she had been placed. 

The foster family identity was never revealed in newspaper reports or even the first name that eventually was given to the baby.  The baby was assigned a birthdate of June 1, 1945.

The Joplin Children’s Home cared for many orphaned and otherwise unfortunate children between 1905 and 1957.  However, while researching this story, the orphanage was never mentioned in local news articles as an option for the baby.

Background

George and Jennie Potlitzer were very well known in the Joplin community due to their activities in welfare and civic affairs.  George and his father owned Potlitzer’s store specializing in women’s wear at 419 and later 418 S. Main Street in Joplin.  George and Jennie lived at 219 S. Sergeant for about ten years.  George was president of the United Hebrew Congregation and the Jewish Welfare Board for many years.  He was involved with the Joplin USO Council, Joplin War Dad’s Club, Salvation Army, the Shrine, United Cities Lodge, B’nai B’rith, Joplin Elks, and World War II bond and Community Chest campaigns.  George was born in Germany in 1878 and came to Joplin with his parents when he was two years old.   He died on May 22, 1944 at the age of 66.  His will stipulated a bequest to the Joplin Children’s Home and numerous other charities.  George married Jennie in Carthage in 1904 and they had one daughter, Mildred and one Son, Sidney.  Sidney was a manager for the Potlitzer’s store.

Jennie was born in Neosho.  She was a member of the United Hebrew Congregation of Joplin and the Temple Aid Sisterhood, Joplin League of Women Voters, and the Joplin Woman’s Club.  In 1932 she was chair of the Council of Jewish Women unit that was part of the Red Cross sewing committee which made clothing for impoverished families from cloth furnished by the government.  This small portion of her life is interesting since the Potlitzer’s livelihood was based on ready-to-wear retail clothing stores.

Jennie died on June 4, 1958 at the age of 75.  Jennie and George are buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Webb City.  

Theories & Timelines

  • Is it possible that Jennie or her guests did know who the baby belonged to but chose to keep it a secret?
  • Assuming the baby was full term, she would have been conceived sometime in September or October 1944 during World War II.
  • Did the baby’s mother know the father’s identity?  Was the baby’s biological father a defense worker or a Word War II serviceman who passed through Joplin or Camp Crowder in Neosho?  The Joplin USO Council operated at 310 S. Wall Avenue (extant) from September 27, 1942 to June 30, 1946.  The Negro Service Council of Joplin operated at 221 S. Main Street (non-extant) from February 6, 1944 to September 1946.  The Neosho USO Clubhouse on Park Drive was opened on February 22, 1943.
  • Did the baby’s mother become pregnant elsewhere and chose to abandon her baby in Joplin?
  • Was Jennie’s son, Sidney Potlitzer the father?  He would have been around 37 years old at the time and single, having married Louise Newman on September 1, 1946.  Was Ruth’s son, Edward Weil, Jr., the father?  He would have been around 20 years old at the time and single.
  • The baby’s mother/father/family may have been familiar with the neighborhood, the Potlitzer & Weil families, and or the fact that there was a nurse on duty at the house. 
  • Is it possible that the baby’s mother/father/family wanted to leave the baby specifically with a Jewish family? 

Better Options Today Borrowed From History

Many states have adopted legal and safe procedures for a parent to give up their baby.  The Missouri Safe Haven Laws were set up so that infants, 45 days old or younger, can be handed over to an employee at a police station, hospital, fire station, maternity home, or pregnancy resource center.  If the baby has not been neglected or abused, parents will face no prosecution.  For complete anonymity, many states have recently installed “Safe Haven Baby Boxes.”  Baby Boxes are currently installed at Joplin Fire Station No. 7 and Carthage Fire Station No. 2.

 

 If you wish to donate, make checks out to Safe Haven Baby Boxes-Local 59 and mail to Local 59, P.O. Box 1712, Joplin, MO 64802 or drop off at Fire Station No. 1 at 303 East 3rd Street, Joplin. 

But the drop-off box is not a new idea.  The concept can be traced back to the Middle Ages and has existed in many countries throughout the world.  There are many names for the box such as Baby Hatch, Foundling Wheel, Stork’s Cradle, and Turning Cradle. 

Conclusion  

Did the baby ever learn about her biological family and situation?  She would now be close to 80 years old and possibly still living in the Joplin area.  Hopefully she had a safe, loving, and a happy life. While we respect the sensitive situation for all concerned and the possible need for confidentiality and privacy, we would appreciate knowing how this story began and ended.  By state law, juvenile records are closed and even records for old cases such as this one could not be disclosed. If you have any information regarding this Mystery in Murphysburg, please contact Historic Murphysburg Preservation, Inc. at [email protected].

ARCHITECTURE AND HISTORY OF THE LENNAN HOUSE

The house is named for the first owners, Thomas and Charlotte Gregg Lennan.  This stately home was built in 1917 and was designed in the Colonial Revival style by renowned Joplin architect Austin Allen.  He designed many structures that still exist in Joplin such as the current Joplin City Hall at 6th and Main, formerly Newman’s Department Store.  Austin also designed the United Hebrew Congregation Temple at 7th and Sergeant Avenue and Joplin Elk’s Club at 4th and Pearl Avenue; both of which were within walking distance and handy since George was an active member in both organizations.  

The most unique features of the house are the massive exterior brick chimneys, pierced with windows.  Gabled wings project from the north and south sides of the house.  Inset arched dormers rise on the top floor front roof.  The central mass of the primary elevation has five symmetrical bays.  The center bay has a historic wood panel door with multi-light sidelights, a carved frame with Doric columns, and a segmental arched wood transom with curved pediments. 

In 1893 Judge Oliver Hazard Picher owned the entire block of Moffet and Sergeant between Second and Third Streets.  He landscaped it as a private park surrounded by a stone wall.  Picher’s mansion was located at 206 S. Moffet.  Eventually, the block was divided into five properties.  During the Great Depression (1929-1930s) the owner of the house lost all his money and the bank foreclosed on the property.  Rather than find a new owner, the bank demolished the venerable old house.  Amazingly, the stone wall around the block remains to this day—the very wall that protected the blue-eyed, red-haired baby in the bushes.

  EVOLUTION OF CLEW TO CLUE

In Greek mythology, Theseus unraveled a ball of thread as he went into a labyrinth and used the thread to trace his way back out after slaying a half-man and half-bull creature named Minotaur.  The idea of using a ball of thread (clew) came from a woman named Ariadne.  

Clew is from Old English cliwen and cleowen, meaning a ball formed by winding yard, twine or thread and is still one of the meanings of clew. 

As the original image of a ball of thread used in the labyrinth, clew was gradually forgotten, and the literal sense of clew became obscured.  The word eventually took the modern meaning of something that helps to solve a problem or unravel a mystery, its prevalent form/spelling being clue.

Although the “clue” spelling is now the prevailing one for this situation, the old spelling of “clew” can still be found in American newspapers from as recently as the 1970s.

United Hebrew Congregation 

There has been a Jewish presence in the Joplin area longer than Joplin has existed, with the first arriving during the 1860s. Early Jewish settlers of the area were shopkeepers, business people, and executives and managers in the mines, who settled here to take advantage of the Tri-State area’s lead and zinc mining boomtown opportunities. Jewish area residents met in local churches to worship during these early years.

Property at the corner of Seventh Street and Sergeant Avenue was purchased from Aaron Haughton of Corpus Christi, Texas, a Mason and former Joplin resident for $6,000 ($124,695 todays equivalent). In September 1916, contractors Dieter and Wenzel received the building permit. The synagogue was completed later in 1917 through the generous efforts of Jewish residents of Joplin, Pittsburg, Galena, Webb City, Carterville, Carthage and New York City. The final cost of the building was $35,000, which about $727,390 today.

The United Hebrew Congregation of Joplin was formally organized in 1911 with planning and fundraising efforts for a permanent synagogue accelerating in the subsequent years. Joplin Rabbi Joseph Leiser called for a building worthy of the Jewish citizens – one that will be an ornament to the city and be acceptable to all citizens of this district, not merely to the particular worshippers.

One of the United Hebrew Congregation founding members, Gabriel Newburger, is credited with the inspiration of the temple’s architecture after bringing back his sketches of the magnificent Hagia Sophia, which is now a museum and is located in current day Istanbul, Turkey. Mr. Newburger was accompanied on this trip by his brother-in-law and business partner Solomon Newman, Sr. By 1910, Sol, his brother Albert Newman and their father Joseph Newman together with Gabe were all part of Newman Mercantile Company in Joplin.

Newspaper accounts touted the yet-to-be completed structure as a Byzantine-style building with Oriental trimmings and along the lines of a Hebrew temple and a Turkish mosque. The Oriental look was in vogue in Joplin around this time and examples of it could be seen in Schifferdecker Electrical Park’s Moorish entrance and towers (circa 1901-1914). The interior Oriental-style lobby was similar to the Turkish baths at the Elks Club Lodge (circa 1904).

October 1916 witnessed the Masonic cornerstone laying ceremony, which was attended by 600 people, to include every member of UHC, 225 Masons and visitors from the surrounding area. It was a gala event including speeches delivered by Rabbi Leiser and congregation president Morris Scherl.

Joplin First Church

Many times the most impressive structures in a city are its churches. Their outlines grace the city’s skyline
and their steeples stretch up to meet the clouds.

 First United Methodist Church has been part of the fabric of the community that bears his name since the Reverend Harris G. Joplin, a Methodist circuit rider, made his way to the edge of the frontier back in the 1830’s and planted a congregation among the folks who had settled here. As the community grew so did we. In 1905 we opened the doors to a new house of worship at the corner of 4th and Byers Avenue, and those doors are still open today. 

Architects Charles Garstang and Alfred Rea designed the majestic entrance that features a triple arched portico entry with a large stained glass window above. Romanesque pillars with Corinthian-style capitals support the load of Gothic arches and two bell towers flank the grand entry. The steeple on the southwest rose 100 feet tall in the air before lighting struck in 1963. The cornerstone for the church was laid in 1905 and the first service was held in the congregations new home on June 3, 1906.