From the 3rd floor
of the Webb City Public Library
Webb City Area Genealogical Society
Some years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Kent graciously stopped by our third floor in the Webb City Library to do some of their family research on a long-ago uncle who had once left the Kents of Kansas with some very rare photos he had of Webb City that were taken during the late 1800s.
One particular photo is rare, and not exactly the same as other scenes of Sucker Flat that are on file at the Webb City Area Genealogical Society.
This unique photo was taken looking south from the Fourth Street area. Back then, Fourth Street was Webb City’s “back street.” Of course, it was decades before Highway 171 came through.
Sucker Flat became a repository for mine waste that’s been cleared from the nearby EPA superfund site.
We think it’s remarkable to compare the optimistic start of mining in Webb City with how King Jack Park appears now that the pit has been filled.
