After the Civil War, companies had established smelters along the Joplin Creek Valley. Rival companies split the town in two until the state general assembly reincorporated the towns into the city of Joplin in 1873. Joplin is home to Missouri Southern State College.
The Dorothea B Hoover Historical Museum focuses primarily on the Victorian period. Historic items from Joplin's mining era, including an extensive doll collection and the 'Circus Room', a child's playhouse and a 1927 American LeFrance fire engine are displayed.
The Municipal Building is home to a large-scale mural completed in 1973 for Joplin's Centennial Celebration. The mural entitled, Joplin at the Turn-of-the Century 1896-906, was Thomas Hart Benton's last signed work.
Local minerals and scale models of lead-mining operations are on display at the Tri-State Mineral Museum. Antique mining equipment is also on the grounds.
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Joplin
