MSSU Archives & Special Collections Exhibits: All Exhibits

Digital exhibits created by the MSSU Archives and Special Collections department.

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.

Fred G. Hughes Collection

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.

Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Illinois

In honor of National Women's Equality Day an exhibit has been created for the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Illinois collection. In addition to promoting temperance, the WCTU was also active in advocating for women's suffrage. This collection ranges from 1904 through 1987.

Celebrating MSSU's 50th Anniversary at Mission Hills

As of 2017 MSSU has been located at the former Mission Hills Estate for 50 years! Here's a look back at some of the construction of campus during those years.

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