Joplin Township (part 6 of 6)

In 1893 was erected the Webb City Baptist College on ground donated to the college corporation by J. J. Nelsou, occupying a beautiful site of about six acres in the western part of the city. The building is a large, modernbuilt, commodious structure, costing about fifty-five thousand dollars. lit tliis enterprise the college has been very liberally aided by citizens of Webb City, especially by Mrs. Elizabeth Chinn and E. T. Webb, the son of the founder of the city, who is now one of her most prosperous busmess men. The college is in a flourishing condition, with an attendance of one hundred and sixty pupils under liie care of J<>bn W. Keltner. I). \).. its president, and some thirteen teachers.

Ts the center of an extensive mining territory. The mines in the city and immediately surrounding it, es])ecially to the south, being the richest and yielding a greater amount and a higher grade of lead and zinc ores than any other mines covering the same extent of territory in the whole mining district of southwest Missouri. Probably more capital is invested, more expensive machinery used, and deeper and more systematic mining is done and with, more satisfactory results than at any other mining locality in southwestern Missouri. The formation of the ground admits of comparative safety in mining it. a good cap-rock, as a rule, forming a roof to the mines, so that very little timbering to hold up the ground is necessary. The mines are well drained and the ore is quite generally found in stratified sheet fonnations. The city of Cartcrville quite naturally enjoys the benefits of the prosperous condition of its mines, and iias some large manufacturing and mercantile establishments, a national bank, a good system of graded schools, modem brick school buildings, good railroad facilities, having the Missouri Pacific and the Kansas City. Fort Scott & Memphis Railroads located on the line di\-iding it from ^^'ebb City on the west, and the Southwest Missouri Electric I'iailnjad passing through the city over its jjrincipal streets. It has for many years been incorporated a city of the fourth class. ;uid, although adjacent to Webl^ City, has always maintained a separate municipal government and refused all overtures looking to uniting the two places under one city government. The plat of the town of Carterville was filed in the county recorder's office on the 9th day of September, 1875, by William A. Daugherty, James G. L. Carter and \Villiam McMillan, covering the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter and the southeast rpiartcr of the northwest (piartcr of section 17 in township 28 of range 3^. the tmvn being named ;ifU'r Mr. Carter, who still residc-f on his farm nc;ir the citv. Mr. naugherlv has resided in tlie city ever since its organization, liaving been a very prominent, enterprising business man, and having conducted mining operations on a large scale, mostly in connection with Thomas N. Davey, and his son, Judge James A. Daugherty. Numerous additions have been laid off to the original town. The population of the city in 1900 was 4,445. A branch of the Electric Railway is operated from Carterville to Prosperity, and many switches and spurs from the other railroads are built to the mines. The Missouri Pacific Railroad has a branch from the city to and beyond Prosperity, which is likely to be extended to Granby in Newton county. Carterville is also located in Joplin township.

This city is located in Mineral township, nine miles west of Carthage and three miles north of Webb City. It was first known as Minersville and is the oldest mining tou'n in the county. Lead was mined here as early as 1853, and mining was lesumed here immediately after the war and was not prosecuted again at any other place until Joplin started in 1871. The t-nvn of Minersville was laid out October 20, 1856, by Stephen O. Paine on the south half of lot 2 of the southwest fractional c|uarter of section 31 in townsliip 28, of range 32, on the north side of Center creek. On November 19, 1S73, by an order of the county court of Jasper county the name of the town was changed, and it was in that order incorporated as the town of Oronogo (Ore-or-no-go), for the reason that there was another Minersville in the state, and the name of the postoflrce, which up to that time had been Center Mines, was soon also changed to OronogO'.

Notwithstanding the length of time that lead and zinc mining has been vigorously carried on at Oronogo, it is, for the extent of territory' mined over, one of the most productive mining localities in the mining district. The Memphis, Carthage and Northwestern (now the St. Louis .S: San Francisco) Railroad was built through Oronogo in 1872, Mineral township voting bonds to aid its construction. In 1878 a branch of the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway was built from Oronogo to Webb City and Joplin, a distance of ten miles, which has been since extended to Galena, Kansas.

In 1868 the Granby Mining and Smelting Company obtained control of the mines at this place and have carried on extensive mining operations here ever since. Colonel J. Morris Young was the first superintendent for that company and '-esided at Oronogo for many years - representing Jas- per county in the legislature in tlie years 1869 and 1870. Judge Charles E. Elliott was from an early day the leading merchant in Minersville and Oronogo. He served as presiding justice of the county court for the years 1895 to 1899, during whose term tlie court houses, commenced under the former county court administration, were completed. Ulysses Hendrickson, the first sheriff of Jasper county elected after the war by the Democratic party, has resided at Oronogo since coming to the county in 1866. The city is now a thriving, busy place, with a population in 1900 of 2,073.