the State Historical Society of Missouri
Kimberly Harper is an editor at the State Historical Society of Missouri.
In the late nineteenth century, cycling became a popular American pastime. The League of American Wheelmen, a…
Articles Authored
![J. Christian Bay. [State Historical Society of Missouri, Jens Christian Bay Portraits, P0206-027598]](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2021-09/1-J_Christian_Bay.jpg?itok=nldBRJET "J. Christian Bay. [State Historical Society of Missouri, Jens Christian Bay Portraits, P0206-027598]")
J. Christian Bay was born to Lars and Doris Christiansen Bay on October 12, 1871, in…
![Robert P. W. Boatright, standing center with his hands in his pockets, with others gathered before a footrace at an unknown location circa 1900. [Sioux City (IA) Journal, June 4, 1911]](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-10/1.-robert-boatright_0.jpg?itok=zrdrIaZl "Robert P. W. Boatright, standing center with his hands in his pockets, with others gathered before a footrace at an unknown location circa 1900. [Sioux City (IA) Journal, June 4, 1911]")
Robert P. W. Boatright, hailed as the “dean of confidence men” by scholar David Maurer, was born in 1859 in…
Perl D. Decker was an attorney who served three terms from 1913 to 1919 as a US congressman from Jasper County,…
![The House of Lords, whose sign is visible on the left, was part of the James H. Worth block in downtown Joplin. [Courtesy of Kimberly Harper]](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-04/1.-house-of-lords.jpg?itok=xBNCNInR "The House of Lords, whose sign is visible on the left, was part of the James H. Worth block in downtown Joplin. [Courtesy of Kimberly Harper]")
The House of Lords was a three-story brick building in Joplin that housed a saloon and restaurant, gaming…