SHSMO Center for Missouri Studies
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Columbia, Mo.
Born in Ireland, Tom Connor lived the classic American rags-to-riches story. He witnessed several of the Civil War’s major battles as a newsboy with the 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, then spent a decade wondering around the U.S. before ending up in southwest Missouri. Connor soon developed a knack for knowing which tracts of land had rich zinc deposits underneath. He bought thousands of acres of land containing the ore and was a millionaire by age 31.
Unlike Joplin’s other mining kings, Connor never built a mansion for himself, preferring to spend his money on others. He gave thousands of dollars to churches and charities in Joplin and his hometown of Tiffin, Ohio, but his greatest gift was “the finest hotel property in this part of the country.” The magnificent Connor Hotel, which opened in 1908 and featured an Italian marble rotunda and grand staircase, would serve as the city’s main gathering spot for the next 50 years. Notorious guests included outlaws such as “Pretty Boy” Floyd, and more reputable visitors that included movie stars, famous athletes, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gene Autry, and Robert Wardlow, the world’s tallest man. Local residents rallied to “Save the Connor” in the 1970s but couldn’t stop its demolition and the tragic ending that caught the nation’s attention.
About the Presenter: Chad Stebbins, PhD, taught courses in journalism/communications and international studies at Missouri State University and oversaw MSSU's mission in global education. He led student and alumni study abroad trips and advised the student newspaper. He is the author of two books about Tom Connor: Tom Connor: Joplin's Millionaire Zinc King, and Joplin’s Connor Hotel, the latter of which won the Walter Williams Award presented by the Missouri Writers Guild in 2022. After retiring from MSSU following a 40-career, Stebbins became executive director of the Missouri Press Association in January 2025. Stebbins first book, All the News Is Fit to Print: Profile of a Country Editor, was published in 1998 by the University of Missouri Press.
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