In the most recent issue of the Joplin Metro Magazine, Issue 11, the pickings are regrettably slim for pieces of Joplin history. The lengthy article on the Joplin Police Department has some information on the history of the department, including a list of officers who have fallen in the line of duty. The murder of one officer on the list, Officer Theodore Leslie, sparked the lynching of Thomas Gilyard. For more details on that murder and the lynching, pick up a copy of White Man’s Heaven, by Kimberly Harper. You can learn more about the Joplin Police Department on Historic Joplin here. Copies of the Joplin Metro Magazine can be found around Joplin in businesses, including the lobby of the Joplin Globe building.
