Lead was discovered in the Joplin Creek Valley before the Civil War, but it was only after the war that any real development occurred. By 1873 numerous mining camps had sprung up in the valley and resident John C. Cox filed a plat for a city on the east side of the valley.

Cox named his village Joplin City after the spring and creek nearby. The namesake comes from the Reverend Harris G. Joplin who founded the first Methodist congregation in the area in mid-century.

Carthage resident Patrick Murphy filed a plat for a city on the opposite side of the valley and named it Murphysburg. The cities eventually merged into Union City, but this merger was found illegal and the two cities split. They merged again, this time permanently, a short time later as the City of Joplin.

Joplin was a rough and wild town back in the old mining days and catered to all that a lonely miner might want - for a fee of course. Back in the wild old days Joplin’s Main Street was lined with saloons, dance halls and gambling establishments.

By the turn of the century Joplin was quick becoming a regional metropolis. Construction centered around Main Street, with many bars, hotels, and fine homes scattered about. Trolley and rail lines made Joplin the hub of Southwest Missouri and it soon became the lead and zinc capital of the world.

Notable places in Joplin included the House of Lords, the History House, the Connor Hotel, the Keystone Hotel, the Newman Mercantile Store, the Frisco Depot, the Union Depot, the Scottish Rite Cathedral, the Liberty Building, the Fox Theater, and the Crystal Cave. Notable people in Joplin's history include Mickey Mantle who played with the Joplin Miner's minor league baseball team, and Thomas Hart Benton who began his art career with a local newspaper. St. Louis Cardinals manager Gabby Street and actors Bob Cummings and Dennis Weaver also are natives to Joplin.

After World War II most of the mines were closed, population growth leveled off, and in the sixties and seventies nearly 40 acres of the city's beautiful and historic downtown were razed in the name of "urban renewal."

Joplin has always been a center of learning. The college of "Physicians and Doctors" opened in an early day, and today Joplin is home to three major colleges including Ozark Christian College, and Missouri Southern State University.

As the area's population center it is the home to the area's major hospitals including Freeman West, Freeman East, and St. John's. The city also has a fine park system that includes a golf course, three swimming pools, walking trails, the world's largest Chert Glades, and Missouri's largest natural waterfall, Grand Falls, on Shoal Creek just south of town. Included in Schifferdecker Park is the Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Museum and Dorothea B. Hoover Historical Museum. The mineral museum feature a collection that rivals the Smithsonian with its contents.

Numerous buildings still exist in Joplin that are on the National Register of Historic Places. Joplin remains a regional economic powerhouse, with numerous trucking lines headquartered in town, as it is situated strategically near the geographic and population centers of the nation. Eagle-Picher Industries and F.A.G. Bearings are headquartered in Joplin and Leggett & Platt (Fortune 500) is located in nearby Carthage. The city is served by the Joplin Regional Airport located north of town near Webb City.

In the nineties the city continued to expand eastward towards U.S. 71 (future I-49) and large scale development occurred along Rangeline Road, particularly around Northpark Mall. Growth has also occurred in many of he "bedroom communities" surrounding Joplin. Webb City, Neosho, Pittsburg, and Carthage all have populations of at least 10,000. There are numerous other suburbs that touch the city itself including Carl Junction, Duquesne, Airport Drive, Oronogo, Carterville, Redding's Mill, Shoal Creek Drive, Sunnyvale, Leawood, and Saginaw. The Joplin Metropolitan Area is now well over 100,000 and during business hours the population of the city itself swells to near that number.  Today the mine tunnels under the streets of Joplin have yielded their last ore and are now filled with water to supply the thirsty town above. By the time Route 66 came through it had settled down somewhat and catered to all that a traveler might need - for a fee of course. Joplin was also the last chance for the westbound traveler to soak up some suds, as Kansas was "dry."