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Central City, Missouri

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Galena Township. It lies in ZIP code area 64801. The Survey maps it on the Joplin West quadrangle.

Central City within Jasper County

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 19 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

121 words on this township

The History of Jasper County, Missouri : Including a Condensed History of the State, a Complete History of Carthage and Joplin, Other Towns and Townships : Together with Numerous Portraits of Prominent Men : Cuts of Elegant Residences and Public Buildings : a Sectional Map of the County : Biographical Sketches of Many Enterprising Farmers, Merchants, Mechanics, Professional, and Business Men : the Constitution of the State : an Abstract of Laws : an Elaborate History of Jasper County - Its Topography, Natural History, Pioneers, Organization, Political History, Courts and Bar, Religious, Educational, Medical, Agricultural, Mining, and Horticultural, Its Commercial and Business Interests, Etc, published 1883 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.

The chapter on Galena Township covers the township.

Read the chapter on Galena Township - 121 words.

Fires near this place

78 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 78 fires within 5 miles of Central City between 1992 and 2020, burning about 898 acres in total. 1 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning38
Missing data/not specified/undetermined29
Equipment and vehicle use4
Smoking3
Recreation and ceremony2
Natural1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
6 August 1996Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
2 August 2018Debris and open burning2.0 acresKansas Forest Service148
17 August 2018Naturalunder an acreMissouri Department of Conservation177462-07341-08172018-1253
12 August 2015Debris and open burning5.0 acresKansas Forest Service156
6 July 2015Debris and open burning5.0 acresKansas Forest Service138
5 July 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKansas Forest Service137
24 July 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMissouri Department of Conservation179008-07341-07242019-1600
15 July 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKansas Forest Service141

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jasper County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 930 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 930 workings within 5 miles of Central City: 929 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Lead, Zinc, Zinc, Lead, Zinc, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Kirshmann-Jeffries QuarryStone, Crushed/Broken, Marble, DimensionPast Producer
Klondike PitClayPast Producer
Mattes Bros. Chat PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Opossum Hollow QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Taxbox QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Belleville Strip PitZincPast Producer1900
Pearl LeaseZincPast Producer1910, 1912
UnknownZincPast Producer1890, 1916
W. C. MineZincPast Producer1926, 1942
1915 Mine West ShaftsZinc, LeadPast Producer

Every working recorded in Jasper County

Storms near this place

8 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Central City in 8 storm reports between 2008 and 2024: 3 hail, 2 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. The reports record 158 deaths and 1150 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2011Tornado (EF5)Central City158 killed, 1150 hurt, $2,800,000,000National Weather Service survey teams rated the tornado that tracked across the southwest through east central portion of Joplin, Missouri, as an EF5 tornado. Maximum winds were estimated to have exceeded 200 miles per hour. The tornado had a maximum width of one mile and an overall path length of nearly 21.6 miles, nearly nine miles of which occurred in Jasper County.||The tornado killed 158 directly, three indirectly, and injured over 1150 people. Sadly, on May 24 a police officer who was volunteering from another department, was struck by lightning while serving in the response efforts and later died. Equally, a 56 year old man who had been included as a direct fatality was later determined to have died of a heart attack. Over 10,200 people filed for disaster assistance following the tornado.||The EF-5 rating (greater than 200 mph wind speeds) was mainly arrived at by the total destruction of vehicles, including some vehicles tossed several blocks and semi trucks thrown a quarter of a mile. Parking stops weighing over 300 pounds and re-barred into asphalt were uprooted and tossed. Other factors in the rating included damage to reinforced concrete structures, and that St. Johns Hospital building structure was compromised. ||Seven thousand homes were severely damaged or destroyed and another 900 damaged. Other substantial buildings damaged or destroyed included the Joplin High School and Technical Center along with five other city schools. Numerous retailers including Home Depot, Sports Academy, Dillons, and Walmart were also destroyed. The most substantial building impacted was St John's hospital which will be razed due to the tornado. It was calculated that 2 million cubic yards of debris is attributable to the storm across its relatively short length on the ground.||The tornado initially touched down one half mile southwest of the intersection of JJ Highway and Newton Road in Newton County where several large trees were toppled. ||The tornado rapidly intensified as it moved toward the intersection of Country Club Drive and 32nd Street where it crossed into Jasper County. Damage became more widespread as the tornado crossed Maiden Lane, breaking nearly all windows on three sides of St. Johns Hospital as well as damage to the roof and exterior walls on several floors. Two patients on oxygen were indirectly suffocated when the generator and a backup generator were damaged after power was cut off. Three additional patients may have succumbed similarly though sufficient data as to the cause of death was not available. An additional indirect fatality occurred due to psychological trauma.||The tornado further intensified as it destroyed homes and businesses to the immediate east and north of the hospital. A church school was completely destroyed with the exception of a portion of the sanctuary. Significant damage to the Greenbriar Nursing Home resulted in the death of 20 mostly elderly patients. ||The tornado continued to destroy hundreds of frame homes between 32nd and 20th Streets, leading to nearly a fifth of the deaths. Three story apartment complexes had the top two floors removed; other two story complexes were partially leveled. Fourteen deaths occurred in apartments along the track. Eleven additional deaths occurred in churches along this path. There were two fatalities in a mobile home (Joplin has a city ordinance prohibiting mobile home parks). ||Well built structures that were heavily damaged or destroyed along this area included the Joplin High School, Franklin Technical Center and Irving Elementary, all of which were free of students due to the weekend. The tornado also damaged three additional elementary schools. A bank was totally destroyed with the exception of the vault. A large grocery store was also destroyed. ||The tornado crossed Rangeline Road near 20th Street. Damage included significant to complete damage to several restaurants and large long-span retail buildings; including Home Depot, Sports Academy and Walmart in this area. Twenty deaths occurred indoors or in the parking lots of these structures. Semi trucks on the back side of Walmart were thrown more than a quarter mile.||The tornado continued to move eastward along and south of 20th Street destroying numerous warehouse style facilities, a portion of Joplin East Middle School, and residences through Duquesne Road.||The tornado continued destroying numerous homes as it began weakening. It turned southeast toward Interstate 44 where it threw several semi trucks as it crossed the interstate and moved into Newton County at 32nd Street just west of Kodiak Road.
October 2018Thunderstorm WindCentral City$2,000A portion of a car port roof was damaged near the intersection of Central City Road and West 7th Street. The Joplin airport ASOS measured a 49mph wind gust a few minutes later at 2:29 pm. The report was received via social media.
May 2024HailCentral City-Report of quarter size hail at 20th and Central.
April 2019Thunderstorm WindCentral City-Multiple reports of downed large tree limbs were received.
October 2019HailCentral City-A report of golf ball sized hail was received from the Iron Gates area via social media. No damage was reported.
July 2009Flash FloodCentral City-A slow moving complex of thunderstorms producing heavy rainfall flooded portions of Schifferdecker Road in Joplin.
September 2008Flash FloodCentral City-Three to five inches of rain fell over Jasper County resulting in widespread flooding of small streams and creeks. Flooding also occurred in Joplin at the intersection of 7th Street and Maiden Lane. Also, Turkey Creek flooded a low water crossing on Murphy Street.
July 2008HailCentral City-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jasper County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Belle Center1.1 miles19
Dubuque (historical)1.6 miles19
Chitwood1.9 miles19
Iron Gates2.0 miles19
Belleville2.7 miles19
Blendville (historical)3.3 miles19
West Joplin3.4 miles19
Lone Elm3.6 miles19

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 739981. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.