Celebrating National Historic Districts & Places That Matter

HISTORIC MURPHYSBURG PRESERVATION, INC. (HMP)

2023  ACCOMPLISHMENTS & ACTIVITIES

JANUARY :  For an understanding of the future, look to the past

Continued the distribution of the coloring book, Coloring JOMO: Women Who Made Their Mark, walking tour brochures, and hand illustrated maps.  Continued research on original and or significant owners of Murphysburg houses.  Received Visit Joplin (formerly known as Joplin Convention & Visitors Bureau) grant funding for HMP website updates. 

MARCH: Bring to light often overlooked history

HMP promoted Women’s History Month by featuring two (unrelated) women that lived at 101 N. Sergeant in the early 1940s to late 1950s.  Mary Kirk Kelly, as a professor at Joplin Junior College, started Model United Nations for students.  They would travel to regional and national simulations which continues today; after retirement she became an internationally known ceramic artist.  Dora Kneeland invented what came to be known as Williams Chili Seasoning and her son-in-law produced it in the garage before moving the operation to Webb City

Mary Kirk Kelly

APRIL: We envisioned new projects 

Completed research on the Pearl Brothers House (101 S. Moffet) and requested a local historic marker sign.  Continued advocacy for the rehabilitation or abatement of apartments at 117-121 S. Byers (built in May 1950) through direct conversations with Tyler Casey with ProX Management and City officials.  Represented HMP at the Spring meeting of Missouri Route 66 Association and the Visit Joplin Tourism Connection regional meeting.

MAY: Bring awareness to underrepresented communities

Partnered with Downtown Joplin Alliance’s Loft Tour.  Presentation to City Council asking for historic street name signs.  Provided Mt. Hope Cemetery with QR codes for 50 original Murphysburg residents interred at the cemetery.  Staffed a booth at DJA’s Third Thursday.

JUNE: The impact you helped make possible

Represented HMP at the annual Missouri Preservation Conference held in Joplin.

JULY: We advocated for

Partnered with the Scottish Rite Cathedral to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the building.

AUGUST : Promote heritage tourism

Facilitated a feature story & photographs of Murphysburg walking tour in the 417 Magazine.

OCTOBER: Benefitting from new energy

Hosted the annual membership appreciation meeting at the Cornell Complex with guest speaker Neely Meyers, Science Center Creative Learning Alliance director.

NOVEMBER: Home for the holidays…in Murphysburg

Installed Christmas Wreaths on Murphysburg District utility poles.  Monitored HMP’s “Giving Tuesday” donation website. Guest appearance on MSSU TV Newsmaker show.

DECEMBER: Overlooked history

Conducted the Austin Allen, the Architect — Remembered historic building tour and lecture which was co-sponsored by Visit Joplin and Joplin Celebrations Commission .  Received a Visit Joplin grant to pay for production of a booklet featuring Murphysburg District houses.  Continued dialogue with City officials to save 130 S. Moffet, the Albert Newman House from demolition.

ONGOING

  • Manage Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Mail Chimp, HMP website, liability insurance, storage unit, and more.
  • Manage communications, inquiries about houses for sale, Joplin history & media inquiries. 
  • Conduct historical research using Ancestry.com, Find-a-Grave, Newspapers.com, etc.
  • Interface with North Heights Neighborhood Group, Downtown Joplin Alliance, City of Joplin, Joplin Historical Neighborhoods, Inc., Connect 2 Culture, Bluehaven Homes & Bykota, REI (the Olivia Apartments) and many other community organizations/projects.
  • Welcomed new Murphysburg homeowners with historical documentation on their house and general HMP membership information.

The Joseph S. Walker House

Joseph Scott Walker, Sr., along with his wife Mary Ellen, were original owners of this house. They moved out in 1903. Joseph was considered a “capitalist” and an ore buyer for the Edgar Zinc Company of St. Louis. He was superintendent of the Sunday school at the First Methodist Church of Joplin and for six years was president of the Jasper County Sunday School Association.

Next came Charles W. McAbee, and wife Louella. He was vice-president of Independent Powder Co. of Missouri and later president of Independent Candy & Manufacturing Co. at 4th and Missouri Avenue.

George Washington Moore resided at the house from 1931 to 1937.  However, in 1938, he and wife Ida moved across the street to the “old Schifferdecker home” at 422 S. Sergeant.  It is noteworthy because he “swapped houses” with the Hurwitz-Luecke Family that had lived at the mansion since 1920.  According to the Webb City Sentinel, George was elected the mayor of Webb City in 1904 and was credited with lifting Webb City out of the mud and otherwise modernizing what was then a rough mining community.  George was also an ore buyer and associated with numerous mining and smelting industries.  The Moores lived at the Schifferdecker house until 1947 when it was sold to the Hurlburt-Glover Mortuary—a saga onto itself—eventually settled by the Missouri Supreme Court!

  • Moore House in Webb City 2023
  • Mrs. George (Ida) Moore
  • George’s Death Nnotice
  • George Moore (mid-life)
  • 411 South Sergeant Avenue

Postscript: George’s “palatial home” at 903 S. Madison Avenue in Webb City, built in 1908, is slated to be demolished in the summer of 2023 to make way for new commercial development.  Thankfully, the two historic houses in Joplin that are associated with George and Ida listed above have been preserved.  After extensive renovations to the Schifferdecker Mansion by Joplin Historic Neighborhoods, George W. Moore remains engraved on the front step.

Bertha Hurwitz Luecke moved into the house in 1938 and remained until her death in 1952.  Bertha’s husband, Julius died in 1933; he was a jeweler.  Her brother, Dr. Leon Hurwitz also lived at the Schifferdecker House with the Luecke Family.  Dr. Hurwitz died in 1936, ten years after being convicted of selling morphine illegally, serving three years in Leavenworth prison, and understandably losing his medical license! All of this could explain why Bertha was ready to “downsize” by moving to 411 S. Sergeant. 

Bertha’s son, Carl Luecke continued living here until his death in 1969.  He was an engineer for the Empire District Electric Company for 41 years.  Carl’s wife, Ruth Fleischaker Luecke held a master’s degree in special education and was the first teacher of the sight-saving classes in the Joplin school system.  Carl and Ruth continued living here until their deaths in 1969 and 1973 respectively.
In the spirit of keeping the house in the family, Ruth’s nephew, William “Bill” Fleischaker moved into the house in 1975.  The extended Fleischaker Family factors prominently in Joplin’s early history and that of the United Hebrew Congregation of Joplin.  Several family members continue to serve the community today.  

ARCHITECTURE

The two-and-one-half-story Queen Anne house has a limestone foundation, a hip roof with lower cross-gables and a side-wrap porch with a gabled pediment.  It has brick piers, round wood columns and dentil molding.  A transom can be seen over the front door. 

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The Fletcher Snapp House

Fletcher Taylor Snapp was a member of Joplin High School’s first graduating class of 1887, the first president of the Joplin Automobile Club, Joplin’s mayor from 1922-1926, one of the founders of the Citizens State Bank, a cashier of Cunningham Bank and building chairman during the long process of constructing the Scottish Rite Cathedral at 505 S. Byers Avenue.This house has suffered several devastating fires. The first of which claimed Mr. Snapp’s life when he was 79 years old and that of a handyman. The tragedy occurred when the oil furnace exploded while being repaired. His wife Elizabeth Belle (Betty) Mayes Snapp survived. This brown brick clad house has a porte cochére that provides covered access for visitors arriving by motorized transport—or back in the day for the horse and carriage. The portico, consisting of Ionic columns and a triangular pediment, beckons visitors to enter this stately home. The wrap-around covered porch with its turned balustrades serves as the venue for outdoor gatherings. The main entry door has cut glass sidelights with transoms. Furthermore, the beautiful historic wooden door is enhanced with a decorative oval arched transom. Each story has a curved bay window and all windows have limestone lintels.

The William B. McAntire House

William McAntire (1848-1911) was born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He came to Joplin in
May 1873 and was considered an early pioneer of Joplin. He was also a pioneer member of the Commercial Club of Joplin, which would many years later become the Chamber of Commerce. William married Charlotte “Lottie” Martin on February 14, 1876. She was born in June 1853 and lived until July 1909. William was an attorney and on several
occasions was elected police judge of the city.

He was in practice by himself and part of the time in partnership with his first cousin, J. W. McAntire. In the early 1890s he gave up active practice of law and entered the real estate business.

In Judge McAntire’s obituary he was described as a “…pioneer of Joplin and no man in the city’s history ever bore a better reputation.  He forgot selfish ends where a question of integrity or honesty was concerned.”  He also fostered many city improvements.  One of Judge McAntire’s honorary pallbearers was Charles Schifferdecker.

His parents W.S. and Elizabeth E (VanMeter) McAntire were natives of Virginia. In 1849 William’s parents went west to Missouri locating at Memphis Scotland County where they engaged in agricultural pursuits for eight years. W. B. attended the schools while there acquiring a liberal education.

Mrs. McIntire was born in Scotland. From the marriage there were two children William Edwin born June 26, 1877 and Arthur Benford born October 1880. Mr. And Mrs. McAntire resided in their beautiful home on the corner of Fifth and Moffet.

ARCHITECTURE – The two-and-one-half-story Queen Anne house has a hip roof with lower cross-gables.  Gabled wings project from the north, east and south elevations.  A side-wrap hip-roof porch projects from the primary (north) and east elevations.  It has limestone piers with round wood columns and a lattice railing.  A pediment defines the entrance.  A stylized Palladian window fills the peak of the gable above the cornice.

The John Johnson House aka Schifferdecker Gardner’s House

The John Johnson House
419 South Jackson Avenue Caretakers House and/or Schifferdecker Gardener Cottage

The house was built by Charles Schifferdecker and is located directly west of the Schifferdecker mansion at 422 South Sergeant Avenue. Research and restoration are. ongoing and it is believed that the structure could have also been an office for the Schifferdecker businesses.

The original residents of this house were John Richard Johnson (1882-1946) and Louisa K. Martens Johnson (1884-1985). Born in Sweden, John came to Girard, Kansas as a young boy and then to Joplin at age 21. He secured a job as a gardener for Charles Schifferdecker and soon oversaw the extensive Schifferdecker property holdings.

He married Mrs. Schifferdecker’s niece in 1903, thus becoming a Schifferdecker heir after Charles and Wilhelmina’s death in 1915. John became a naturalized citizen in 1920.

In John’s obituary, the Joplin Globe newspaper reported that he was orphaned at seven years old when both parents and siblings died. However, the 1910 and 1920 U.S. Census shows John’s father, Andres Johnson residing with John and Louisa at 419 South Jackson Avenue!

This mystery is undergoing further research and may be a story for another day. Several years after Charles, Wilhelmina, and Wilhelmina’s mother died, the Johnson Family moved into the Schifferdecker mansion, but it was short lived. According to Johnson descendants, Louise was uncomfortable living at the house because she claimed to hear the rustling of petticoats on the staircase and believed it to be the ghost of her departed aunt!

Another mystery, although much more salacious associated with this house is the 1916 unsolved murder of Samuel C. Davis of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The mystery intertwines with the adultery trial of Mr. Davis and his mistress, Mrs. Daisy Carter. Daisy was living at 419 S. Jackson when Samuel came to visit. Shots rang out and Samuel lay dead inside the house! Mr. Davis was a wealthy, alcoholic half-breed Creek oilman that was also associated with the grand conspiracy to defraud Native American Indians of their oil lands.