A project of the Springfield-Greene County Library. The Library has maintained a collection of postcards as an important source of images of a retrospective of Springfield and the surrounding area. A variety of themes and periods are represented in the 113 postcards displayed. The postcards are presented in three sizes: thumbnail size for browsing, and larger images on the narrative pages, which then link to even larger images.
Kansas Citians who seized an opportunity were sometimes able to build empires. Those willing to take a chance, make quick decisions, determine a public need, or stick to a successful philosophy were able to launch themselves to the top and stand the test of time. The business climate of Kansas City played a part in the success of these historic businesses. In the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, Kansas City was in turn a river town teaming with western pioneers, a railroad town bustling with new urbanites, and a city crisscrossed by streetcars.
These postcard images show the development of Joplin from a scattering of rough mining camps through the mid-point of 20th Century. They provide an indelible image of a city that grew virtually overnight to become the world's premier supplier of lead and zinc ore. Because of these raw materials, the city also became a transportation hub and still retains the title of The Crossroads of America. In addition to pictures of mines and miners, there are images of Joplin's extravagantly landscaped parks and public recreation areas as well as souvenir postcards of the little motels and motor courts that sprang up along the path of America's most famous highway, Route 66.
This collection contains over 700 photographs from glass plate negatives taken from before 1910 to 1936. The negatives were selected from the Westhoff Archive at the Boone County Historical Society and were taken by Joe Douglass, Henry Holborn, and Wesley Blackmore. These photographs provide a unique glimpse into the people and culture of Columbia, Boone County and Missouri in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Group Bookmarks tagged photographs
Moultrie Creek (999)
ariella1 (83)
Craig Manson (69)
C Jackson (28)
snowbound (3)