On March 23, 1873, the Missouri legislature passed a bill presented by T.M. Dorsey and Judge John H. Taylor. On that day, the City of Joplin was born. On that day in March, Joplin counted around four thousand citizens, no paved streets or roads, and only seventeen lead furnaces. All but a few of Joplin’s buildings were built of wood and many homes were simply tents and small box-houses. By appointment of the governor, E.R. Moffett was made the first mayor of Joplin. Joel T. Livingston, in his massive History of Jasper County, republished an article from the St. Louis Globe-Democrat which described the people of Joplin as full of “pluck and industry” and who overcame severe disadvantages through sheer, “abundant nerve.”
Today, Joplin turns 137 years old. Happy Birthday, Joplin!
