Local History

Women of Murphysburg

Celebrating women pioneers at the turn of the century in Joplin Missouri

Murphysburg honors women connected to the Murphysburg Historic District at the turn of the century during Women’s History Month. So many of the social life’s aspects have changed for women in the years. Starting with the right for education and ending with gender equality – all of this didn’t happen overnight, and many used their personal lives for a greater cause such as the suffragette movement, prohibition, and supporters of everything tending to uplift the betterment of the community. They were amoung America’s early leaders in the cause for women’s rights.

Four women connected to the Murphysburg Historic District at the turn of the century will be honored during March-Women’s History Month. Historic Murphysburg Preservation, Inc., a local non-profit organization, will celebrate the past by using present day technology. There will be a different woman featured for a week starting every Wednesday in March on HMP’s website and Facebook page. Paula Callihan said, “We are dedicated to making history informative and fun. Be sure to visit our Facebook page at Murphysburg and add your modern-day word/thought bubble via the comment option.” Paula encourages community members and descendants to contact her if they have pertinent Murphysburg historical documents, photographs, maps, or oral history to share. She reminds people that information about Murphysburg housekeepers, cooks, nursemaids, caretakers, chauffeurs, etc., is also a critical historical component.

Olivia Josephine Bendelari / Mrs. Alex Stein

Miss Olivia Bendelari Olivia was born on December 11, 1910 in Ohio, but soon came to live with her parents, Annie and Fred Bendelari at the Olivia Apartments. It must have been a constant source of pride and need for explanation for the young Olivia to live at the Olivia that was named for her grandmother, “Minnie” Mary Olivia. Her uncle, Arthur Bendelari also lived at the Olivia and had it built in 1906. Her ...
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Helen Bendelari Boughton-Leigh McAlpin

Helen Bendelari Helen was born on January 15, 1906, in Ohio, but soon came to live with her parents, Annie and Fred Bendelari, and siblings at The Olivia Apartments. Her uncle, Arthur Bendelari built the Olivia and lived there with his wife Frances. Her father and uncle were associated with the Consolidated Mining Company and Eagle Picher Lead Company, respectively. Both families made a very comfortable living in Joplin which enabled Helen and sisters Olivia ...
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Mary Bendelari

Inventor, Designer, Entrepreneur, Mentor, Lobbyist, Socialite, Manufacturer Mary also patented an elastic-edge tablecloth and a rigid bed sheet. Mary was born in Ohio in 1902, but soon came to live with her parents, Annie and Fred Bendelari, and siblings at the Olivia Apartments, 320 S. Moffet in Joplin.  Her uncle, Arthur Bendelari built the Olivia and also lived there with his wife Frances.  Her father and uncle were associated with the Consolidated Mining Company and Eagle Picher Lead Company, respectively.  ...
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Frances Geddes Bendelari / Mrs. Arthur Bendelari

Joplin Society Leader, Prominent Vocalist in Joplin and Beyond Born in September 1884 in Ohio, Frances and her siblings grew up with their parents James and Dollie Geddes in Joplin, and at one point, lived at 301 S Sergeant in what is now the Murphysburg Historic District. A Quashed Elopement Several biographical books (and Joplin folklore) claim that Howard Robards Hughes (the father of the infamous Howard Hughes, Jr.) lived in Joplin while working in ...
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Hard Luck: The Billy Cook Story

William Edward “Billy” Cook was born into a life of violence. It was a hard-luck life that would carry him all the way to the Death Chamber and beyond. He was executed at California’s San Quentin prison before he was 25 years old. Is Badman Billy Cook buried in an unmarked grave just outside of Peace Church Cemetery as local rumors have suggested?

William Edward “Billy” Cook was born into a life of violence. It was a hard-luck life that would carry him all the way to the Death Chamber and beyond. He was executed at California’s San Quentin prison before he was 25 years old. Is Badman Billy Cook buried in an unmarked grave just outside of Peace Church Cemetery as local rumors have suggested? Will his spirit ever find peace?

In November 1951, a jury found Billy Cook guilty in only 50 minutes. Cook received the death sentence with a smirk on his lips and hate in his heart. “I hate everybody’s guts.” he said, “and everybody hates mine.” Billy Cook gave them hell all the way to the end. He refused to speak with clergymen or the hordes of eager reporters. He denied everyone just because they hoped to get a last minute exclusive with the condemned killer.

Badman Bill Cook was buried at night in Peace Cemetery according to the headline of a 1952 Joplin Globe story. Cook’s graveside service was held under the cover of darkness to avoid attention. The service was officiated by Rev. Dow Booe of nearby Galena and lasted only 10 minutes. “Brief service held at night with aid of flashlights and lanterns before about 15 persons;” “Funeral cortege, consisting of four cars and hearse, moves to burial place over back roads,” the sub-headlines read. “Just as the graveside rites ended,” Wallace wrote, “the cry of a small child could be heard in the chill of the night air.”

Billy Cook in Popular Media

The Billy Cook case inspired the 1953 film classic The Hitch-Hiker, which details the final leg of Cook’s saga in Mexico and, twenty years later, would be the basis for the Doors’ Top Twenty hit from 1971, “Riders on the Storm,” included on their LP L.A. Woman (“If you give this man a ride / Sweet family will die…”). It was the last song the band would ever record.

Murphysburg Veterans History Project

The David Castle Tandy

Born 1823 | Died 1875 | Physician | Land Speculator So, just who was Mr. David Castleman Tandy and what was his connection to our area? If you own land in the Murphysburg Historic Residential District, specifically in Section 3, or land in other Joplin Sections 7, 10, 11 or 14, you might have seen the name of David C. Tandy on your abstract as the “original” owner of the land.  The abstract may also read, “Copy of Patent or Special Warranty Deed with dates of ...
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Mr. Charles Schifferdecker

Born August 28, 1851 | Died October 30, 1915Businessman | Philanthropist | Capitalist Charles Schifferdecker A lot can be said about Mr. Schifferdecker, one of Joplin’s most prominent citizens of his time. Originally from Baden, Germany, Mr. Schifferdecker worked with Mr. Edward Zelleken at Zelleken’s brewery and later the two opened a bottling business, then established a wholesale beer and ice business in Joplin. Mr. Schifferdecker quickly moved on to the more lucrative banking and mining ventures. Mr. Schifferdecker was ...
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Mr. Lee Taylor

Born February 28, 1837 | Died December 13, 1917Confederate Soldier | First Elected Mayor of Joplin | Mine OwnerHis Second to last home was located in the Murphysburg Historic Residential District at 5th and Byers Avenue Mr. Lee Taylor In an era of interpreting how we view or romanticize Joplin’s historical facts related to the American Civil War, and with the understanding that Joplin and Missouri were split politically and morally between the Union and Confederacy, HMP’s philosophy is to ...
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The Tale of Joplin’s Two United Service Organizations (USO) during World War II

HMP’s philosophy is to look at historical facts with a neutral eye. In this spirit, HMP does not honor the practice of segregation, but rather recognizes the history that shaped our nation, state, city, and the armed services, plus those who gave of themselves. The multi-level building at 306-312 South Wall Avenue borders the Historic Murphysburg Residential District on the east side of Pearl. In the late 1920’s it was Farmer Motor Company and several mining and smelting companies. In ...
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War Timeline:

American Revolution | 1776 to Treaty of Paris September 3, 1783

War of 1812 | Conflict between the U.S. and Great Britain from 1812 to 1815

Mexican War | Conflict between the U.S. and Mexico | 1846 to 1848

American Civil War | April 12, 1861 and ended by proclamation on May 9, 1865

Spanish-American War | April 21, 1898 to Paris Peace Treaty on December 10, 1898

World War I aka the Great War | 1914 to 1918 | America enters the war 1917 | Armistice was November 11, 1918 | Treaty of Versailles outlines the terms in 1919

World War II | Began in 1939 as a European conflict, but then widened to include most of the nations of the world | U.S. declares war on Japan, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania in December 1941 | War ends May 8, 1945