Local History
Women of Murphysburg
Read the lives, work, businesses, families, and public contributions of women connected to Joplin's historic district.
Olivia Josephine Bendelari / Mrs. Alex Stein
Olivia Josephine Bendelari grew up in the Olivia Apartments and carried her family's story into Joplin civic and social life.
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Helen Bendelari Boughton-Leigh McAlpin
Helen Bendelari's travels, studies, and competitive skiing broaden the family story beyond the Olivia Apartments and Joplin.
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Edna Catherine Jackson Houk
Edna Catherine Jackson Houk appears in Joplin history through prohibition-era reform and civic concern.
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Mary Kirk Kelly: Joplin Junior College Teacher
Mary Kirk Kelly taught at Joplin Junior College and represents the education stories held in the archive.
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The Legacy of Jo Kilbane: A Life of Service in Joplin
Jo Kilbane's life adds an important story of civic service, leadership, and community care.
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Dorothy Peck and Mac’s Bakery
Dorothy Peck and Mac's Bakery connect women's labor, family business, food, and Route 66-era Joplin.
Read her storyAbout the collection
History changes when more lives are visible.
Women helped shape Murphysburg as business owners, educators, civic leaders, reformers, neighbors, caregivers, and keepers of family memory. Their influence is woven through the district, even when traditional histories gave them only a few lines—or left them out entirely.
This collection reconnects individual women with the homes, streets, institutions, and businesses they influenced. Read together, these stories reveal a fuller picture of how Murphysburg and Joplin grew, how families and neighborhoods changed, and how public life was built through both celebrated achievements and everyday work.
Complete series
Women of Murphysburg stories
Profiles and features about business, education, public service, family life, food, travel, and the homes where these histories unfolded.
Olivia Josephine Bendelari / Mrs. Alex Stein
Olivia Josephine Bendelari grew up in the Olivia Apartments and carried her family's story into Joplin civic and social life.
Read her story Helen Bendelari Boughton-Leigh McAlpin
Helen Bendelari's travels, studies, and competitive skiing broaden the family story beyond the Olivia Apartments and Joplin.
Read her story
Mary Bendelari
Mary Bendelari helped shape the Bendelari family story connected to the Olivia Apartments and Murphysburg memory.
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Frances Geddes Bendelari / Mrs. Arthur Bendelari
Frances Geddes Bendelari connects Murphysburg family history to music, culture, and the Olivia Apartments.
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Woman’s History Month…Two Untold Stories
Dora Kneeland's chili seasoning recipe connects a Murphysburg home with a family business that grew far beyond Joplin.
Read her story Edna Catherine Jackson Houk
Edna Catherine Jackson Houk appears in Joplin history through prohibition-era reform and civic concern.
Read her story Mary Kirk Kelly: Joplin Junior College Teacher
Mary Kirk Kelly taught at Joplin Junior College and represents the education stories held in the archive.
Read her story
Baby in the Bushes, at the Potlitzer home, 219 South Sergeant
Baby in the Bushes follows an unsolved 1945 mystery centered on Jennie Potlitzer's home at 219 South Sergeant Avenue.
Read the story The Legacy of Jo Kilbane: A Life of Service in Joplin
Jo Kilbane's life adds a story of civic service beyond one family or one house.
Read her story Dorothy Peck and Mac’s Bakery
Dorothy Peck and Mac's Bakery connect women's labor, family business, food, and Route 66-era Joplin.
Read her storyEmma Sue Hills and Mr. Swiss Drive-In
Emma Sue Hills and Mr. Swiss Drive-In connect women's history to roadside commerce and public memory.
Read her storyWOMEN ON JOPLIN’S ROUTE 66
Women on Joplin's Route 66 gathers multiple names into a broader timeline of travel and commerce.
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Women of Murphysburg: The Bendelari Women of The Olivia Apartments
The Bendelari women of the Olivia Apartments anchor one of the strongest Women of Murphysburg story groups.
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Where these stories happened
Three buildings that connect women's lives to Murphysburg and Joplin history.
The Olivia Hotel and Apartments
The Olivia Hotel and Apartments is central to several Bendelari women and one of the strongest women's-history connections in the district.
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The John & Annie (Zelleken) Comerford House
The John and Annie Zelleken Comerford House connects family, architecture, and women's history on South Sergeant Avenue.
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COSGROVE BUILDING
The Cosgrove Building broadens the story into downtown Joplin, commerce, and working life.
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Add a woman to the record.
Share a name, photograph, correction, family story, or newspaper clipping and help make this history more complete.