MO Missouri Porch

Southwest Missouri

King Jack Park keeps Webb City's mining name in public space

Webb City's King Jack Park and Mining Days Community Building give Jasper County a city-park note tied to local mining identity and Route 66 civic life.

webb cityking jack parkmining historyroute 66

Webb City’s own history begins its mining story with a plow hitting lead ore in 1873. John C. Webb finished that year’s corn crop, then tried mining in 1874. Water kept filling the shaft, so a large pump and his mules became part of the work.

The boom that followed shaped the town. Today, the Mining Days Community Building sits in King Jack Park. It has room for more than 100 diners, a commercial kitchen, and wide views across the park. An amphitheater stands next to it.

Those are ordinary civic spaces with old industry in their names. King Jack Park and the Mining Days building carry Webb City’s mining beginning into daily life, long after the shafts stopped driving the local economy.

Where to see it

References

More from Jasper County: browse every local note for the county.

Last checked against the sources above: July 16, 2026.

Counties near here

Keep reading

More local stories and practical help near Jasper County.

More History & Culture notes · every Jasper County note.

Page feedback

See something off, missing, or unclear?

Send a quick note if a source, local detail, or answer needs a closer look, or if the page leaves you with a question.

Send a note