Joplin, MO

Joplin, Missouri
City
Aerial view of downtown Joplin, 2009. The bridge is 2nd Street and the intersection is 2nd St. and Virginia Ave.
Nickname(s): "JoMo"
Motto: "The City that Jack Built"
Location in the state of Missouri
Coordinates: 37°5′3″N 94°30′47″W / 37.08417°N 94.51306°W / 37.08417; -94.51306Coordinates: 37°5′3″N 94°30′47″W / 37.08417°N 94.51306°W / 37.08417; -94.51306
Country	United States
State	Missouri
Counties	Jasper, Newton
Incorporated	1873
Government
• Mayor	Michael Seibert
Area
• City	35.68 sq mi (92.41 km2)
• Land	35.56 sq mi (92.10 km2)
• Water	0.12 sq mi (0.31 km2)
Elevation	1,004 ft (306 m)
Population (2010)
• City	50,150
• Estimate (2015)	51,818
• Density	1,410.3/sq mi (544.5/km2)
• Metro	176,849
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	64801-64804
Area code(s)	417
FIPS code	29-37592
GNIS feature ID	0729911
Website	JoplinMO.org

Joplin (/ˈdʒɒplɪn/) or (/ˈʒɒplɪn/) is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150. Joplin is the main hub of the three-county Joplin-Miami, Oklahoma metropolitan area.

Lead was discovered in the Joplin Creek Valley before the Civil War, but only after the war did significant development take place. By 1871, numerous mining camps sprang up in the valley and resident John C. Cox filed a plan for a city on the east side of the valley. Cox named his village Joplin City after the spring and creek nearby, which had been named for the Reverend Harris G. Joplin, who settled upon its banks circa 1840.

Carthage resident Patrick Murphy filed a plan for a city on the opposite side of the valley and named it Murphysburg. While the nearest sheriff was in Carthage, frontier lawlessness abounded in Joplin. The historic period was referred to as the "Reign of Terror". The cities eventually merged into Union City, but when the merger was found illegal, the cities split. Murphy suggested that a combined city be named Joplin. The cities merged again on March 23, 1873, this time permanently, as the City of Joplin.

While Joplin was first settled for lead mining, zinc, often referred to as "jack", was the most important mineral resource. As railroads were built to connect Joplin to major markets in other cities, it was on the verge of dramatic growth. By the start of the twentieth century, the city was becoming a regional metropolis. Construction centered around Main Street, with many bars, hotels, and fine homes nearby. Joplin's three-story "House of Lords" was its most famous saloon, with a bar and restaurant on the first floor, gambling on the second, and a brothel on the third. Trolley and rail lines made Joplin the hub of southwest Missouri. As the center of the "Tri-state district", it soon became the lead- and zinc-mining capital of the world.