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Hours: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Monday-Friday

  • Appointments are recommended.

Location: Missouri Southern State University's Archive and Special Collections are location on the first floor of George A. Spiva Library at Missouri Southern State University.

Telephone: 417-625-9552

Email: archives@mssu.edu

News

Tri-State Area Mining Collection Exhibit

The Tri-State Area Mining Collection Exhibit is now available! This exhibit was created from photographs and documents donated by the Webb City Area Genealogical Society, Webb City Historical Society, and the Harry Hood collection. It offers a rich history of mining and its origins in the Tri-State Area, and an in-depth view of the environment and locations the miners worked in. Check out the exhibit to learn more!

Bailey Collection Exhibit

The Bailey Collection Exhibit is now available! The Bailey collection consists of many letters, documents, forms and photographs all revolving around the Bailey family. The Bailey Family consisted of Edward, Mabel, Carroll, and Amy Bailey. The collection also includes their extended family the Sellars. Many of the documents in the collection are of the work the family did in China and Japan and of Edward and Carroll Bailey’s military service after World War II. Check out the exhibit to learn more!

Joplin Business and Professional Women's Club Collection Exhibit

The Joplin Business and Professional Women's Club Collection Exhibit is now available! This collection was curated by the students of the HIST 483:Archival Collections and Methods class. The Joplin chapter of the Club was organized on March 18, 1929. This collection encompasses the documents of the Joplin Business and Professional Women's Club from the 1940s through the 2010s. Check out the exhibit to learn more!

F.M. Forbey Collection Exhibit

The F.M. Forbey Collection Exhibit is now available! This collection was curated by MSSU student Haley Hembree. Frank Moses "F.M." Forbey Jr., born June 28, 1924, Charleston, Missouri. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. The F.M. Forbey Collection is comprised of his letters to and from his family during that time. Check out the exhibit to learn more!

Fred G. Hughes Collection and Exhibit

Fred Hughes was the manager of the Joplin Globe Publishing Company from 1953-1986 and the first President of the Board of Regents of Missouri Southern. Under his guidance Missouri Southern bought the two hundred and sixty-five acre estate where it is now located. In 1975 the University honored him by naming the football stadium after him. Lena Brewer, an intern at the MSSU Archive, recently completed a project to process a collection of his papers and create a finding aid and exhibit for them. Take a look!

Online Collections

The MSSU Archives now have online collections! While the creation of these collections is still a work in progress, you can view currently uploaded items, like Crossroads yearbooks and The Chart by clicking here!

Archives and Special Collections Full Lists


Archives & Special Collections Exhibits

ABBC Coterie Scrapbook Collection

The ABBC Coterie was founded in 1939 by Betty Baron and three of her friends she met in an English class. Originally, the ABBC Coterie was created for women to gather to study English and Parliamentary Law; however, as WWII began, the ABBC Coterie found themselves dedicated to providing entertainment and resources to the servicemen in the war.

Charles W. Wilkerson Collection

A Springfield, Missouri native, Charles W. Wilkerson helped found the International Molders’ and Foundry Workers Union of North America after being fired from multiple jobs for being a "union agitator." He worked as an officer of the Union from 1906 through his death in 1950.

Eric Hawkins Collection

Eric Hawkins was the Managing Editor of the Paris Herald for 36 years beginning his career in 1924 and ending in 1960. The Eric Hawkins Collection consists of photographs, newspapers, letters, and other documents from his career at the Paris Herald Tribune.

Tri-State Area Mining Collection

A combination of photographs and documents donated from the Webb City Area Genealogical Society, Webb City Historical Society, and the Harry Hood collection offers a rich history of mining and its origins in the Tri-State Area. Through the photographs taken in the mines, this collection offers an in-depth view of the environment and locations the miners worked in.

MSSU Photograph Collection

The MSSU Photograph Collection encompasses a vast array of images, ranging from the institution's humble beginnings as Joplin Junior college, to late 1990s Missouri Southern State University. A project has just begun to digitize the University's historic photographs. Move through this exhibit to explore MSSU's roots as JJC, the construction of the current campus, along with the institution's administrative history, everyday academia and campus life. 

Bailey Collection

The Bailey collection consists of many letters, documents, forms and photographs all revolving around the Bailey family. The Bailey Family consisted of Edward, Mabel, Carroll, and Amy Bailey. The collection also includes their extended family the Sellars. Many of the documents in the collection are of the work the family did in China and Japan and of Edward and Carroll Bailey’s military service after World War II.

Joplin Business and Professional Women’s Club

The Joplin chapter of the Business and Professional Women’s Club was organized on March 18, 1929. This collection encompasses the documents of the Joplin Business and Professional Women's Club from the 1940s through the 2010s. In July of 2021 the HIST 483: Archival Collections & Methods class at Missouri Southern State University worked this collection. The collection was divided among the students of the class to organize and describe.

F.M. Forbey Collection

Frank Moses "F.M." Forbey Jr., born June 28, 1924, Charleston, Missouri. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. The F.M. Forbey Collection is comprised of his letters to and from his family during that time.

Tri-State Mining Collection


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