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1896 – Competition for the American Bell Telephone Company when Charles Manker and W.C. Stewart set up the Home Telephone Company. Many businesses would have two phones, one from each phone company so all their customers could ring them. (The two phone companies merged in 1913. Southwestern Bell took over in 1925.)

1896 – The Joplin Globe’s first issue was printed on Aug. 9.

1886 – First semester of the Webb City College.

1896 – William A. Snodgrass and his father, Hamilton Snodgrass, purchased the Webb City Register from his brother-in-law Jesse Zook.

1896 – J.W. Frey succeeded F.M. King as mayor in October 1896 and held the post until April 1898.

1896 – The Southwest Missouri Railway purchased the Jasper County Electric Railway, which ran from Carterville to Carthage, and the Galena Electric Railway.

1897 – Jane Webb Stewart married Charles Chinn Sr.

1897 – John Henry Etter and his wife, Fannie Phelps Etter, opened a bakery on the southwest corner of Second and Main and later moved to the West End on Daugherty Street.

1898 – E.E. Spracklen became mayor until 1900.

1898 – Col. W.F. Cody and his Wild West Show came to Joplin in September. People came from area towns and by 10 a.m. Main Street was packed with everyone awaiting the parade.

1898 – Bernice Ashcraft, first baby born in Webb City and daughter of Grant Ashcraft, married Earl A. Bunch.

1898 – Webb City had a mineral display at the Omaha International Exhibit and received the only silver medal.

1899 – Webb City’s paid fire department was organized under Mayor E.E. Spracklen. The city purchased the first auto fire wagon for $5,000.

1899 – Henry C. Humphrey moved to Webb City and started Humphrey’s Department Store across the street from the Newland Hotel. He brought with him $4,000 worth of merchandise. His first year netted him $17,000, and before long he was bringing in $300,000 annually. He later purchased the Hatten and Raymond Block (the second brick building in Webb City) at 201–207 N. Allen (Main).

1899 – Andrew McCorkle moved his home to the south using logs and horses to allow room at 106 S. Webb St. to build a grand home that would reflect his mining success.

1899 – F.E. Adams came to Webb City and bought the Webb City Daily Sentinel in July.

1899– Webb City Gazette was printed.

1900 – S.F. Clark was elected mayor until 1902.

1900 – John Dermott built the Dermott Building northwest corner of Allen (Main) and First Streets. He also built the Zinc Ore Building (the Sentinel today at 8 S. Main), with an office for himself and his son-in-law, Thomas J. Roney, a state representative.

1900 – Franklin School was built.

1900 – Webb City’s YMCA was formed, and construction of its building begun.

1900 – Webb City had a population of 9,201; Carterville, 4,445; Carl Junction, 1,117; Carthage 9,416.

1900 – St. John’s Hospital in Joplin opened.

1900 – The Southwest Missouri Electric Railway Company built new streetcar shops on the northeast corner of Madison and Broadway.

1900 – The Century Building was built at 25 and 27 S. Main.

1900 – Grand Opening of the Blake Opera House. At the time, it was considered to be the largest and grandest in the area. The $30,000 building  held 1,200 seats and 10 private boxes. On the night of the grand opening, all seats were filled at an astronomical fee of $10 each. Later known as the Blake Theatre, it burned in 1931.

1901 – YMCA building was built at 109 W. Daugherty, with retail shops on first floor.

1901 – Spracklen Photography building was built on the northwest corner of Webb and Daugherty streets.

1901 – President McKinley was assassinated on Sept. 6.

1901 – Dr. William Winston Waggoner, a recent graduate of School of Medicine of the University of Cincinatti, with post graduate work at University of Heidelberg in Germany, arrived in Webb City. He lived at 116 N. Roane St.

1902 – D.F. Wertiz, elected mayor until 1904.

1902 – Eighth grade was admitted to high school.

1902 – John Henry Etter and his wife Fannie Phelps Etter moved their bakery to 1005 W. Daugherty St.

1902 – The Middlewest Building, 1 S. Allen (Main), built in 1883, underwent major remodeling. The opera house on the second floor became a hotel.

1903 – Southwest Missouri Electric Railway Co. built a power house with brick and stone on the northwest corner of Madison and Broadway.  The Webb City Northern Electric Railway Co. was built to connect Oronogo, Neck City, Purcell and Alba.

1903 – Fireworks exploded at the Murratta Drug Store, badly injuring James Murratta. His health did not improve, but he continued to work the store until 1911, when he died at the age of 46 from complications of that accident. In 1911, Roy Teel purchased the Murratta Drug Store.

1904 – Thomas Sauls, at the age of 101, walked to the polls to vote for president, as he had done every election since he was old enough to vote. He also laid claim to that fact that he had shaken hands with every president at that time except President Washington (who died before Saul was born) and President Teddy Roosevelt, who was serving at that time and was up for re-election. Saul was not in condition to travel to Washington D.C. to shake Roosevelt’s hand and passed away in 1906 at the age of 103.

1904 – St. Louis World’s Fair.

1904 – Mr. Barbee suggested the plan of organizing school classes with officers.

1904 – Mr. Barbee started the school newspaper “The Review.” It lasted just two years, discontinued as it took up too much school time and grades were suffering.

1904 – Andrew McCorkle passed away.

1904 – Range Line School was dedicated in November.

1904 – Joplin’s new Federal Building completed at Third and Joplin in December.

1904 – George W. Moore was elected mayor, after having served on the council for several terms. He was re-elected in 1906. He was a popular Republican mayor in a Democratic town. He bricked 21 blocks in the business district. The first city street lights were installed. He also negotiated construction of the $100,000 Webb City-Carterville viaduct, which allowed streetcars to pass above the railroad, in 1906.

1905 – May 18, Merchants & Miners Bank was organized by W.E. Patten, R.B. Dodge, L.J. Stevison and C.M. Manker. It opened in a temporary location at 110 E. Main, behind the Middlewest Building.

1905 – Dr. Lincoln Chenoweth opened the first hospital in Webb City in the home of Captain Hemenway, on the northwest corner of Webb and First streets. He then closed it the same year and opened the second hospital at the Salvation Army, 200 E. Main (Broadway).

1905 – The Webb City and Carterville Gas Co. was organized by Col. James O’Neill.

1905 – Feb. 12, the temperature ranged between 21 and 27 below zero.

1906 – The Exchange Bank nationalized and became known as Webb City National Bank.

1906 – The Merchants & Miners Bank building was completed in April on the southwest corner of Allen (Main) and Daugherty.

1906 – San Francisco earthquake.

1906 – Hal Wise purchased the Webb City Sentinel with his best friend, Jim Stickney. Wise had spent the previous year with the St. Louis Dispatch covering the World’s Fair. About 10 years later, Wise was the sole owner of the Sentinel.

1906 – Mount Hope Cemetery was established. The bodies of Webb City forefathers were exhumed from area cemeteries and moved to the center hub of the new cemetery.

1906 – The Southwest Missouri Railroad Co. was organized to replace the Southwest Missouri Electric Railway Co.

1906 – According to the Annual Review, a $75,000 viaduct was being erected by the Southwest Electric Railway Co between Webb City and Carterville. (It would end up costing $100,000.)

1906 – There were 22 major mining companies operating in the Webb City-Carterville and Prosperity field. Most had more than one shaft at each site.

1906 – Independent Gravel Co. was organized by Thomas McCroskey and Ben Reynolds.

1907 – The telephone company built a building at 209 W. Broadway.

1907 – Fire destroyed almost the entire business district of Alba.

1907 – Dr. Melville Slaughter arrived in Webb City with his new medical degree and hung his shingle. It was the beginning of more than 40 years of delivering babies and doctoring the sick. Many have the honor of saying they were delivered by Dr. Slaughter.

1907 – The new skating rink opened in the 200 block of N. Main on Oct. 1. A $40 bedroom suit was being offered to the first couple to be married on skates that night at the rink.

1908 – Peter J. McEntee was elected mayor until 1910.

1908 – High school seniors started the King Jack annual. It was originally referred to as a paper and printed semiannually. The first one being in May 1908. The class of 1909 issued King Jack II in December.

1908 – Dr. Paul Pritchitt came to Webb City.

1908 – The new Catholic parish was built at Webb and Third streets.

1908 – Howard W. Taft defeated William Jennings Bryan. Taft had had stopped in Webb City on his campaign tour by train. He spoke from the porch of the Chapman home, on the northeast corner of First and Pennsylvania streets. He also spoke from a wagon at the corner of Webb and Broadway (Joplin).

1909 – Central Methodist Church was built on land donated by E.T. Webb at Broadway (Joplin) and Pennsylvania. Jane Chinn donated $10,000.

1909 – Joplin’s Schifferdecker Electric Park was opened in June.

1909 – The Belles Letters Club of Webb City was organized.

1910 – W.V.K. Spencer elected mayor, serving two terms until 1914.

1910 – The citizens of Webb City voted 2,262-1,195 to go dry (not sell liquor).

1910 – Jane and Charles Chinn donated $60,000 to build and equip the Jane Chinn Hospital, on the southwest corner of Rose and Austin. Jane Chinn was 81 years of age at the time.

1910 – James A. Daugherty was elected to the House of Representatives from the 15th Congressional District.

1910 – The Southwest Missouri Railroad Co. built a three-story clubhouse for its employees.

1910 – The Library and Civic Improvement Association organized. Most instrumental in establishing the library. (later known as just the Civic Improvement Club.

1911 – Roy Teel purchased the Murratta Drug Store at 110 N. Main, changing the name to Teel Drug Store.

1911 – July 24, Granville Ashcraft (Webb City’s Man of Firsts) passed away.

1911 – Webb City High School was built for $90,000 on Broadway between Washington and Jefferson.

1911 – Carl Junction has its first annual Bingville Celebration.

1911 – The First Methodist Church, at Second and Oronogo, was dedicated, with a seating  capacity of 750.

1911 – There were seven theaters operating in Webb City: The Blake Theatre, 217 W. Daugherty, The Electric Theatre, 110 E. Main (Broadway), The Frisco Theater, 911 West Daugherty, The IT Air Dome, Outdoor Theater, SE corner of Allen (Main) and John (Austin), The Ideal Theater, 104 S. Allen (Main), Ideal Air Dome, Outdoor Theater, northwest corner of Allen (Main) and First Street, and the Mystic Theater, 21 S. Allen (Main). Theatre indicated a capability for live performances, as opposed to a theater, which just showed movies. In later years, the Civic replaced the Blake when it burned. The Jr. Theater replaced the Mystic, and the Dickinson Theater was built in the remains of the Newland Hotel at 22 S. Main

1912 – The Prosperity business district burned on Aug. 7.