Joplin News Past

Joplin News Past Joplin News Past is a sister page to Joplin News First. We do not claim authorship or ownership to any of these images. In our hands.

This is a place to share & celebrate memories of past people and historical places in our area for the next generation to cherish. As 2017 arrived the platform for information is now mobile. Websites based on computer screens are becoming obsolete. This site was created to communicate the history of Joplin to a new generation by placing it in the palm of their hand. To our knowledge all photos are

in the public domain by being posted on other public pages on social media and were not watermarked or trademarked as 'private'. If you can prove ownership of images and would like them removed then we will happily do so or we can credit you, the owner, with credit. Please let us know via email: [email protected] This page or it's admins do not profit from this page.

Route 66: Then... and Now. Boots Drive-In, Carthage, Missouri➖➖➖➖CARTHAGE, Mo. (The State Historical Society of Missouri...
06/09/2026

Route 66: Then... and Now. Boots Drive-In, Carthage, Missouri
➖➖➖➖
CARTHAGE, Mo. (The State Historical Society of Missouri) — In 1946, Arthur Boots opened Boots Drive-in across the street from Boots Court Motel, which he had founded in the 1930s but sold to the Neeley family in 1942.

The two businesses were separate, although both held the Boots name. Both were also built in the Streamline Moderne style, which featured rounded corners, long horizontal lines, and flat roofs, as well as nautical influences like porthole windows and chrome trim.

Sleek and cosmopolitan, this later subset of Art Deco stripped away ornamentation in favor of function and efficiency. Besides buildings, the aerodynamic style could be found in everything from trains, cars, and ships to household appliances.

Boots Drive-In closed sometime in the 1960s, and today the building houses a credit union. Although it's changed, some of the Streamline Moderne aspects remain. Boots Court Motel has been restored and is still open today, and we will feature them soon! — all courtesy State Historical Society of Missouri, please follow them.
-------
Top image: John F. Bradbury, Jr. Postcard Collection (R1551). Bottom: the building in 2026.
-------
See much more about Route 66 at https://shsmo.org/route66
-------

B.F. Goodrich was in business 40 years in Miami. Now 2026, 40 years since the plant closed➖➖➖➖OTTAWA COUNTY, Okla. — In ...
06/09/2026

B.F. Goodrich was in business 40 years in Miami. Now 2026, 40 years since the plant closed
➖➖➖➖
OTTAWA COUNTY, Okla. — In 1986 the B.F. Goodrich tire manufacturing plant closed in Miami, Oklahoma after 40 years in business. They were the largest employer in Ottawa County at one time.

Announced on August 23, 1985 — a date locally dubbed "Black Friday" — the shutdown resulted in the loss of about 2,100 jobs, many say devastated the local economy.

Now today in 2026, it’s been 40 years since that closing.

Riverboat Motel in Branson. Located at 3105 West 76 Blvd, Branson, Mo. Damaged in the Leap Day Tornado of 2012. Modera...
06/04/2026

Riverboat Motel in Branson. Located at 3105 West 76 Blvd, Branson, Mo.

Damaged in the Leap Day Tornado of 2012. Moderately damaged, but never reopened and was torn down the following year.
— courtesy Missouri Memories

Camp Crowder, Newton County Mo. — January 1, 1942, eighty-one buildings at the camp were ready for occupancy. A monument...
06/03/2026

Camp Crowder, Newton County Mo. — January 1, 1942, eighty-one buildings at the camp were ready for occupancy. A monumental task was completed on January 12 when the main power plant stack in the hospital area, nine feet in diameter and 115 feet in height, was raised and placed into position in one piece.

The first week of January saw the regular post headquarters moved from the Haas building to the permanent headquarters building at the camp.

On January 1, uniformed military police were assigned to assist the civilian guards at the twelve guard posts. — courtesy and Mysteries of Newton County

From Camp Crowder to Crowder College compiled by Larry A. James (c) 2006

Ten days in 1998 — (June 2–12, 1998) — Astronaut, Janet Lynn Kavandi took off on the first of her three missions into sp...
06/03/2026

Ten days in 1998 — (June 2–12, 1998) — Astronaut, Janet Lynn Kavandi took off on the first of her three missions into space. She orbited the earth a total of 535 times. Kavandi graduated from Carthage High School, Missouri Southern State University, and Missouri S&T Rolla. — courtesy Ross Malone

Route 66 — Joplin to Springfield — November 14, 1926 pavement on US Highway 66 between Joplin and Springfield was compl...
06/02/2026

Route 66 — Joplin to Springfield —
November 14, 1926 pavement on US Highway 66 between Joplin and Springfield was complete, according to a report from the Automobile Club of Missouri. The 79-mile section of roadway had not been in use for several years due to construction. The completed section, including this spot at Halltown, photographed in 1954, made a total of 170 miles of concrete between St. Louis and Joplin. That left about 100 miles in Missouri with only a gravel or dirt surface. Courtesy Joe Sonderman via Route 66 Postcards.

Helen Robson Walton at a press conference announcing the donation of $39.5 million from the Walton Family Charitable Tru...
06/01/2026

Helen Robson Walton at a press conference announcing the donation of $39.5 million from the Walton Family Charitable Trust to the University of the Ozarks, Clarksville, Ark. in 1998.

Courtesy University of the Ozarks via Arkansas Memories.

Joplin Historical Neighborhoods incorporated salvage items you might recognize 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Materials of the period wer...
05/28/2026

Joplin Historical Neighborhoods incorporated salvage items you might recognize

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Materials of the period were obtained for repairs and new projects

JOPLIN HISTORICAL NEIGHBORHOODS —
“During the restoration of the Schifferdecker and Zelleken homes, a key aspect of the program involved repurposing building components, ranging from the beautiful Carthage limestone recuperated from Joplin’s Knights of Columbus Hall to 1890s bricks from razed St. Louis buildings.

Initially the restoration team faced a challenge in locating Carthage limestone. Both homes needed limestone to finish the process. During the late Victorian era, Carthage, Missouri, was the home of rich deposits of limestone.

By the time of our restoration the local limestone quarry had closed. Members of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Joplin contacted the restoration team offering their Knights of Columbus Hall building’s limestone veneer. The Hall was set for demolition.

Prior to the razing, during the spring of 2019 Mid-Continental masons were pulled off the restoration site. For four months their craftsmen carefully removed every single piece of Carthage limestone veneer from the Knights of Columbus Hall, eventually collecting 77 pallets of stone.

The building material was repurposed and used as a new perimeter wall that encircles the Zelleken property. The new wall connects to the original 1890s Schifferdecker limestone wall. The repurposed Carthage stone was also incorporated into a wall that connects the Schifferdecker Carriage House to the Zelleken Garage.

In 1991 the Schifferdecker home was engulfed in flames. The fire compromised much of the west wall. During the restoration masons removed damaged bricks that left gaping holes in the wall. The restoration team discovered 1890 vintage replacement bricks at a salvage yard in St. Louis. The bricks came from razed late Victorian structures. Pallets of era appropriate bricks were purchased and shipped to Joplin. Masons used the recycled bricks to complete the west wall of the Schifferdecker home.

Seasoned 100-year-old oak was utilized in constructing the stick roof for the Schifferdecker home. The aged wood was purchased from the American Timber Salvage in St. Louis.

Prior to the razing of the historic Hoffmeister home in Webb City, the restoration team removed the wooden floors from the stately residence. Individual boards were removed from the turn-of-the-century residence. The recycled wood was cleaned, refinished and installed in the Welcome Center and the Carriage House.

The restoration team was proud to offer environmental savings by recycling and repurposing limestone, brick and wood. Keeping true to the time period by installing historic replacement parts gives new life to seasoned building materials and helps lessen landfill waste.” (Courtesy Joplin Historical Neighborhoods Inc.)

CLICK HERE for more information to schedule your visit.

05/27/2026

Many buildings from the original Camp Crowder were sold and made their way to area towns and farms in the 1950s. In late 2024 inside a rural barn — moved there from the camp — there was discovered a work-in-progress mural. (🔗 https://bit.ly/3RzoEek)

The WWII artist is not known. Arts Council began to preserve the mural.
➖➖➖
The Camp Crowder Mural has now entered its preservation phase. They are over halfway to the $25,000 goal.

Donate 💳 neoshoarts.net or 📬 Neosho Arts Council, PO Box 605, Neosho, Mo. 64850.

Many buildings from the original Camp Crowder were sold and made their way to area towns and farms in the 1950s. In late...
05/27/2026

Many buildings from the original Camp Crowder were sold and made their way to area towns and farms in the 1950s. In late 2024 inside a rural barn — moved there from the camp — there was discovered a work-in-progress mural. (🔗 https://bit.ly/3RzoEek)

The WWII artist is not known. Arts Council began to preserve the mural.
➖➖➖
The Camp Crowder Mural has now entered its preservation phase. They are over halfway to the $25,000 goal.

Donate 💳 neoshoarts.net or 📬 Neosho Arts Council, PO Box 605, Neosho, Mo. 64850.

Address

Joplin, MO
64801

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Joplin News Past posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Joplin News Past:

Shortcuts

Share