Frankie Meyer: Mining heritage rich with info deposits - Joplin Globe

If your ancestors lived in the Tri-State Area between 1848 and 1970, they or their relatives were probably employed in the mining industry. Some mines were rich in lead and zinc, while others became famous for coal deposits. Although most of the mined areas have since been reclaimed, remnants of strip pits, mine shafts, chat piles and drilling holes are reminders of the once-booming industry.

When rich deposits were discovered, speculators and merchants rushed to the area, followed by thousands of miners. Not surprisingly, dozens of towns mushroomed near mines. A few examples are Webb City, Oronogo, Carterville, Joplin, Granby, Picher, Commerce, Carl Junction and Galena.

In Southeast Kansas, miners were often European immigrants who arrived by train to work in the Weir-Pittsburg coal field. Several books about coal mines, coal miners and coal towns are available at the Pittsburg Public Library. Records at the courthouse in Crawford County, Kansas, will also be useful to descendants in search of information about coal mining ancestors. A trip to the extraordinary Miners Memorial at Pittsburg will be helpful, too.

The first lead ore was found near Joplin in 1848. As mine shafts were dug, large lead and zinc deposits were discovered in Jasper County, Cherokee County, Kansas, and Ottawa County, Oklahoma. Smaller deposits in Missouri were mined in Newton, Lawrence and Barry counties.

The Everett J. Richie Tri-State Mineral Museum, located in the Joplin Museum Complex at Schifferdecker Park is a great place to obtain an overall perspective of lead and zinc mining. While there, visitors can check mining maps. The large displays of ore and mineral specimens excel those displayed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

To learn about mining in Southeast Kansas, stop by the Mining and Historical Museum at Galena, the Crawford County Historical Museum at Pittsburg, the Heritage Museum at Baxter Springs, and the Miners Hall Museum at Franklin.

In 1979, the Federal Bureau of Mines donated more than 5,000 lead and zinc mining maps to Missouri Southern State University. The Tri-State Mining Map Collection has since been digitized and is now online at Missouri Digital Heritage. The list is searchable by many qualifiers, such as location, name of mine, name of mining company, legal description of the location, and name of the lease. When a map appears on the screen, users can zoom in and out of the map.

Maps of lead and zinc mines are also available at the Archives and Special Collections Department at the George A. Spiva Library at MSSU. For more details, call the library staff at 417-625-9552 or emailarchives@mssu.edu.

Suggestions or queries? Send to Frankie Meyer, 509 N. Center St., Plainfield, IN 46168, or contact: frankiemeyer@yahoo.com.