Mining documentary, 'The Ozark Uplift,' premiered in 2013

Mining prospered in the Tri-State District with the help of the streetcar line, which was centered in Webb City, on Madison Street, between Broadway and Daugherty Street. The photo above, of the Southwest Missouri Electric Railway maintenance building (right) and clubhouse for the company’s employees, is one of several sent by Karen Oheim for possible inclusion in a 2013 documentary, “Ozark Uplift.” She points out the mules (in the background at left), which powered the streetcars before electricity. The Clubhouse still stands and is headquarters for Charlie22 Outdoors.

“The Ozark Uplift” was a documentary about an old subject, mining in the Tri-State District, that premiered in 2013 in the historic Fox theater in Joplin, which has been restored by the Central Christian Center.

Karen Oheim, the former photo-scanning expert of the Webb City Area Genealogal Society, contributed a number of photos for the project, however, it’s unknown which photos, if any, were included in the film.

Documentarian Paul Wannamaker undertook the project, involving 120 years of history. It was commissioned by and aired on Ozark Public Television and distributed nationally to other PBS stations.

You can still watch it online.