Webb City, Jasper County, Missouri, USAi

Regional Level Types
Webb City	City
Jasper County	County
Missouri	State
USA	Country

John C. Webb, a native of Tennessee, entered two hundred acres of land where Webb City now stands. While plowing corn in June, 1873, he plowed up a chunk of lead. In the fall he sank a shaft, but the water closed him out. The next year he put out a crop, bought machinery to pump out the water, went to work in the old shaft, and in a few days he took out one piece of lead weighing 1000 lbs. In July he platted the town to which his name was given.

The early history and success of Webb City evolved from the lead and zinc mines in Webb City and the surrounding area. Roughly, in 1838, the first commercial ore was discovered in southwest Missouri. Webb City is located in what is known as the Tri-State Mining District and the Mineral Area. This district is one of the foremost mining districts in the United States. The Tri-State Mining District encompasses an area of roughly 2,400 square miles that included Jasper and Newton Counties in Missouri, Cherokee County in Kansas, as well as Ottawa County in Oklahoma.11 While commonly referred to as the Tri-State Mining District, it was also referred to as the Joplin District, Missouri-Kansas-Oklahoma District, Southwest District of Missouri, and the Tri-State Lead-Zinc District. Mining camps in the three-state area
located outside of the Joplin area were considered secondary, hence the reason the district was sometimes called the Joplin District.

Like most towns in the mining area, Webb City developed from a mining camp. Some of those camp never progressed into a full-blown town because of ore deposits being limited, and miners moving to other areas. Webb City had the good fortune to be established in an area rich in lead and zinc ore. At one time, the Tri-State Mining District held over 82 camps. If ore deposits were plentiful, the miners remained in the camp, which served as the catalyst for Webb City to transition from a mining camp to a town, when it branched out into new businesses to meet the supply demands of the miners and nearby camps. Once a town became more economically diverse, miners relocated to live in town and commuted to outlying camps as they did with Webb City.

Nearby Joplin was considered the leading town in the Mineral Area district for retail, banking, transportation, and mining related business. However, Webb City, for a small town, flourished with the mining boom, which led to at least three hotels, the Missouri Pacific Railroad Depot, and a building to house city hall by 1891. By 1900, Webb City had approximately 45 mines and related mining businesses and by 1915, there were roughly 79 mines or related mining businesses within the city limits. Some of the names of the mines included: Eureka Mine, Silver Moon, Silver Dick, Mocking Bird, Wheel of Fortune, White Dog, What Cheer Mine, G. Zula mine, Coyne & Dermott’s Mine, Brewer & Brown Mine.

According to the “Missouri Mine Outputs in 1915,” the year, 1915 had more mine related activity than the previous years in Webb City. Mining companies were building new plants and more mining deals were conducted then those in prior years.16 In July of 1915, The Hurry Up Mine Company of Webb City, purchased 30 acres and a mill from Portia Mining Company in Galena, Kansas at a cost of $30,000. S. Y. Ramage & Oil Company of Pennsylvania was already operating a mine in Webb City but expanded purchasing the O.F. & L. Mining Company, and constructed three plants. By August of 1915, $135 per ton
was attained for zinc, which doubled since December 1914. With the increase cost in zinc, workers saw an increase in pay from $3.75 per day to $4.00 for machine workers and $3.25 per day to $3.50 for helpers. At this time, the largest zinc mill in the area was located just south of Webb City, and produced 500 tons per shift. The Webb City-Carterville–Prosperity district was the chief manufacturer of blende and galena from “sheet ground” mines in southwest Missouri. The district produced 60 percent of galena concentrates sold in 1915. During 1915, the district produced an estimated 4,985,100 tons of ore, or 48 percent of the total crude ore mined in southwest Missouri, an increase from the 2,000,000 tons produced in 1914. The second most productive in the southwest Missouri region was Joplin with 1,600 tons in galena.

The mining business in Webb City and the surround area continued to prosper through WWI when the war demands required lead for the manufacturing of bullets and shelling casing required zinc. The peak of mining in the Tri-State District occurred during WWII. The district produced 500,000,000 million tons of ore and it resulted in a total of 22,637,000 tons of zinc and lead 3,732,000 for a total value exceeding two billion dollars after smelting during the time period of 1848-1970. Production of the lead and zinc mines experienced a decline after WW II, then in the 1960s the larger companies withdrew their employees. Mining continued in the Tri-State District until 1970 with the last noteworthy production in 1957 in the Webb City region. There are many by-products manufactured from zinc and lead. Galvanized iron and steel is manufactured utilizing zinc, and tires, and pharmaceuticals required zinc oxide. Lead was consumed for the manufactured goods of plumbing supplies, batteries, paint, gasoline, among other consumer products, helping to keep the mine industry active in Webb City and the surrounding area.