Information about Joplin, MO and the small, locally-owned businesses located there.

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A little about Joplin

Due to its location near two major highways and its many event and sports facilities, Joplin attracts travelers and is a destination for conferences and group events. Joplin offers nearly 2,500 hotel rooms, the majority located within a 1/4 mile area of Range Line Road and I-44. It has the 30,000-square-foot John Q. Hammons Convention and Trade Center, which serves as the primary event facility for conventions, associations, and large events. Each June, Joplin hosts the Boomtown Run, a half marathon, 5K and children's run. The event attracts runners from across the country, and features USTA certified courses which start and end in the historic downtown area. Celebrity runners featured at the pre-race banquet have included Bart Yasso, Sarah Reinerston, Suzy Favor-Hamilton and Jeff Galloway. In 2011, due to the devastating EF-5 tornado that struck Joplin on May 22, just three weeks before the run, the event was transformed in the Boomtown Run Day of Service.

The history of Joplin

Although often believed to have been named for the ragtime composer Scott Joplin, who lived in Sedalia, Missouri, Joplin is named for Reverend Harris Joplin, an early settler and the founder of the area's first Methodist congregation. Joplin was established in 1873 and expanded significantly from the wealth created by the mining of zinc; its growth faltered after World War II when the price of the mineral collapsed. The city gained travelers as Route 66 passed through it; "Joplin, Missouri" is among the lyrics to Bobby Troup's legendary song, immortalizing the city among others on the famous highway.

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