Webb City diversified after being outdone in 1918 by the Tri-State Mining District

1912 – President Theodore Roosevelt stopped in Joplin in September to campaign.

1912 – Future President Warren Harding was in Joplin to speak on behalf of President Howard W. Taft.

1912 – William Wheeler opened Wheeler’s shoe store in the YMCA building.

1912 – The West End Pharmacy building was completed. Originally a drug and grocery store, the building also served as a waiting area for the streetcar. The building was owned and operated by E.E. Fugett, who sold the business to Robert Burris in 1915.

1913 – The two phone companies, Bell Telephone Co. and Home Telephone Co. merged, keeping the name Home Telephone. It made life easier for businesses that had to have a phone from each company to allow customers of both companies to call them.

1913 – Jane Chinn (sister of John C. Webb), one of the wealthiest women in Jasper County, passed away on Dec. 31.

1914 – J.E. Locke was elected mayor and stayed in office until 1916.

1914 – Oronogo’s Circle Mine was declared to be “the greatest zinc producer in the world.”

1914 – Webb City’s Carnegie Library was completed Dec. 31 at a cost of $25,000.

1914 – A major railway disaster on Aug. 14 at Tipton Ford took 56 lives. It was on the Kansas City Southern Line.

1914 – The Frisco Depot was constructed at Madison and Daugherty Streets. It took the place of a train station on Fourth Street.

1915 – The Tuberculosis Hospital was completed, but nobody was treated until 1918 because expected state funding to operate it didn’t come through. It was turned into a nursing home in 1956.

1915 – Robert Burris purchased the drug store in the west end of town and named it the West End Pharmacy. While serving in World War I, he sold it to Ed Sever and Fred Jackson. He bought it back when he came home in 1920. His brother, Lewis Burris, went in partnership with him.

1916 – W.F. Gill was elected mayor and stayed in office three terms, until 1922.

1916 – On April 26, Martha E. Webb Hall, daughter of John C. Webb, died in a tragic fire that burned her Hallwood west of Carthage. Her son, Ed, was also in the fire and died the next day

1916 – The Mining Industry reached its peak. Zinc reached a value of $135 a ton. Webb City was known as the Richest Zinc and Lead Mining District in the World.

1916 – The Jefferson Highway was completed. It enters Webb City from the east on Daugherty to Devon, across Broadway, west to Main Street. South on Main to Fourth street, west on Fourth to Madison, south to what would be the new concrete road which began at 13th and Madison. The concrete highway extended through Royal Heights to Broadway in Joplin. The concrete road was built by the WPA in 1918.

1916 – Webb City’s federal building, or post office, was constructed at a cost of $90,000. The marble structure was completed in 1917.

1916 – A.D. Hatten discovered a petrified ear of corn on his land while building his home on Ball Street.

1917 – World War begins.

1917 – The Webb City Chamber of Commerce was organized to take over for the Webb City Commercial Club.

1917 – Joseph Aylor, worth over $2.5 million passed away at age 77.

1918 – The campaign to raise funds to operate the Tuberculosis Hospital began in January with a $500 contribution from A.H. Rogers, who was in California at the time and sent a telegram announcing his contribution. The hospital was completed earlier, but state funding did not come as expected so the hospital was idle. The goal was reached and the TB Hospital began operating in September.

1918 – Etter’s Bakery, on West Daugherty St., needs to expand. Etter builds a two-story brick building with 12 rooms upstairs to rent out. He built around the existing building to allow business to continue to operate.

1918 – The greatest ore strike in the Tri-State District was discovered across the Oklahoma line. That was the beginning of the end for Webb City’s mines.

1918 – Rather than let Webb City die as the miners left, the Chamber of Commerce started a campaign to attract other industry.

1918 – The contract was begun to build a concrete highway from 13th & Madison through Royal Heights to Broadway in Joplin. It was a Works Progress Administration project.

1918 – Lt. Ray E. Watson was cited for heroism in action near Nantillois, France. He was severely wounded in the October battle.

1918 – The end of World War I was celebrated everywhere on Nov. 11. Two days later, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Schalk, 817 S. Madison St., received word that their only son, Darrell Schalk, had died on Oct. 3 in France.

1918 – Preble Shoe Mfg. Co. began making high-grade shoes for children.

1918 – The Webb City Register newspaper shut down. It had been located in the John C. Webb mansion at 112 N. Webb St.

1919 – Influenza caused the schools to be closed for six weeks. Masks of gauze being worn for protection by those working in public, such as barbers.

1919 – Memorial Park was built in memory of those who perished in the World War. Concerts and public gatherings were held in the park. The Roll of Honor board, dedicated to the men and women in service from Webb City, was sponsored by the Wives of the Servicemen’s Club. Land for the park was a gift to the city from Robert Toutz. His son Robert Toutz Jr. became the director of the Webb City Municipal Band, and his family participated in the band that played a free concert every week.

1919 – Elder Garment Plant, the shirt factory, opened. It was a victory for the Chamber of Commerce, which raised $20,000 to purchase the lot and build the building.

1919 – John C. Webb’s mansion at 112 N. Webb St. burned on July 12. It was being used for storage by the J.T. Steele Undertaking Co.