Historic Joplin

Links to blogs, websites, and sources for history.

• Northwest History – An award winning blog by former MSSU professor, Dr. Larry Cebula, which focuses on the intersection of digital and public history with an emphasis on Pacific Northwest history.  A must for anyone curious about how technology  can be used to the benefit of history and educators.

• The Powers Museum of Carthage – The source for the history of nearby Carthage, Missouri.  The Powers Museum website not only offers information online about Carthage history, but also about its present exhibits and current events.

• Bonnie and Clyde’s Joplin Hideout – In April of 1933, the famed bandits Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow chose to hide out in Joplin.  Their discovery led to the capture of a reel of film first published in the Joplin Globe and the survival of the well known images of the pair.  The owners of the apartment where they and their gang stayed have setup a website with not only history about the pair, but on Joplin history, as well offer the apartment to rent.

• Missouri Digital Heritage – Organized under the Missouri Secretary of State’s office, Missouri Digital Heritage may very well be the best place on the web for delving into Missouri’s history, including Joplin’s past.  Of note are the contributions of Leslie Simpson, Director of the Post-Memorial Art Reference Library in Joplin.

• Historic Murphysburg Preservation – The City of Joplin designated Sergeant Avenue from First Street to Seventh Street and Moffet Avenue from First Street to Fourth Street a historic district.  Historic Murphysburg Preservation, Inc., a non-profit corporation, endeavors to preserve the integrity of the district and raise public awareness.  As Joplin has already lost so much of its architectural history, it’s increasing important to make sure that what remains is protected and restored.  Historic Murphysburg Preservation  is the leader in this cause.  See its blog for information on the organization and information on events concerning the Murphysburg historic district, as well the district’s history.

• White Man’s Heaven – Drawing on court records, newspaper accounts, penitentiary records, letters, and diaries, “White Man’s Heaven” is the first book to investigate the lynching and expulsion of African Americans in the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

• Post Memorial Art Reference Library – One of Joplin’s little gems, tucked away in the Joplin Public Library. The website lists resources available to the public, be it art to architecture, as well current and past exhibits.