Agriculture--not mining--brought the first pioneers to Webb City. In 1856, John C. Webb moved his family from Tennessee to southwest Missouri. On the first day of June in 1859, he purchased 240 acres at the General Land Office in Springfield, Missouri. He farmed this land until 1873, when he found lead on top of the ground while plowing his cornfield. Webb City soon became part of the greatest lead and zinc mining district in the world. In September 1875, Webb platted the township of Webb City on part of this same land. His journey from farmer to wealthy mine owner may be a unique story in...

When lead was first discovered in southwestern Missouri around 1830, it had little value, and zinc, called "black jack," was discarded as waste. After the Civil War, mining camps sprang up along the Joplin Creek Valley, which was named for Methodist circuit rider Rev. Harris G. Joplin. As the mining camps merged into neighborhoods and zinc increased in value, Joplin was quickly coined "the city that jack built." Known for being a rowdy boomtown, it was said that Joplin had a bar on every corner and a church across the street. Many early settlers came to Joplin seeking their fortunes in the...