Joplin, Missouri

Joplin, Missouri

Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150. The population at the 2011 Estimates places the city at 50,559, but with the recent annexation of Silver Creek, the population is now estimated at 51,186. In 2011, the surrounding Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated population of 176,849.

Although often believed to have been named for the ragtime composer Scott Joplin, who lived in Sedalia, Missouri, the town is in fact named after the Reverend Harris Joplin, an early settler and the founder of the area's first Methodist congregation. The town was established in 1873 and expanded significantly from the wealth created by the mining of zinc; its growth faltered after World War II when the price of the mineral collapsed. The city gained travelers as Route 66 passed through it; "Joplin, Missouri" is among the lyrics to Bobby Troup's legendary song, immortalizing the city among others on the famous highway.

On May 22, 2011, Joplin was struck by an extremely powerful EF-5 tornado, which resulted in at least 161 deaths and more than 900 injuries; there was also the total destruction of thousands of houses, and severe damage to numerous apartments and businesses, St. John's Medical Center, and multiple school buildings.