After
bursting onto the scene in 1873, Joplin remained isolated
from the rest of the world. It took the arrival of the railroad,
beginning in 1875, to stimulate Joplin’s development
into a city. The first railroad, completed in 1877, connected
Joplin with Pittsburg, Kansas, where the coal fields supplied
necessary fuel to operate the city’s lead furnaces
and new gas works. More rail lines were added to transport
locally-mined lead and zinc to other regions. By the 1890s,
major rail lines connected Joplin with the rest of the country
in all directions. Trains also brought building supplies,
dry goods, groceries, mail, and everything else Joplin needed
to evolve into a cosmopolitan city. Passenger service necessitated
the construction of impressive new depots--Missouri Pacific,
Frisco, and Union Depot. The railroad literally put Joplin
on the map and established it as the hub of southwest Missouri.
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