In 1873 Joplin was founded, mostly due to the local Lead & Zinc mining in the area, all mining stopped in the late 60’s and early 70’s mostly due to the area ground water level rising. This museum is about those mining days of the past, plus other exhibits of Joplin’s history, including; The Empire District Electric Company Museum, The Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Museum, The National Historical Cookie Cutter Museum, The Joplin Sports Authority Sports Hall Of Fame, and The Dorothea B. Hoover Historical Museum. There is so much to see, and a LOT of VERY interesting exhibits inside.
The Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Museum “... boasts one of the world's most exceptional collections of lead and zinc ores as well as other minerals found in the Tri-State District. This museum interprets the geology and geochemistry of the area and illustrates mining processes and methods used from the 1870s through the 1960s.” (Quoted from the museums website)
The Dorothea B. Hoover Historical Museum “...emphasizes the growth and development as the result of the mining in the Tri-State District. On display are assorted historical items from Joplin's mining era including a circus room, a child's playhouse (children are invited in with adult supervision), a 1927 American LeFrance fire engine and Victorian furnishings, textiles and a doll collection.” (Also quoted from the museums website” www. joplinmuseum.org
If you do go to the museum be sure to tell them you are a Geocacher, and that the cache is what brought you there. When I placed a couple caches in this park back in 2003ish they received a lot of visitors because of them, I asked the lady at the front the other day if she remembered that one, and she said yes, and also remembered where the cache was.
Business Hours are:
Tuesday 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday - Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday & Monday – Closed
$2.00 per adult
$5.00 per family
Group rates available
Free admission on Tuesdays
A Little about Schifferdecker Park: On June 10th 1909 the park opened, but was named Electric Park, it was owned (leased by Charles Schifferdecker) by three business men, the park had 40,000 incandescent bulbs, had two large roller coasters, beer garden (named after Charles Schifferdecker), skating rink, boating lagoon, and swimming pool, plus a very large tower, all at the cost of $150,000, but in 1912 the amusement park was closed down due to the high cost of running such a large operation , and the local miners not being able to afford to be able to pay to get to the park, and also pay for the admission prices.
In 1913 Charles deeded the land (40 acres) to the City of Joplin as long as they would make it a free park. In 1914 the city tore down the amusement rides, and the tower. In the near future I will be doing another cache about Schifferdecker’s brewery that he had around this time era, very, VERY interesting. 
This is kind of a unique cache it will take some ingenuity, plus possible Muggles/Mugglers, this is why I made it a 4 for difficulty. For some it will be easy, for others it might be hard, either way, enjoy the history, and the cache. Cache On!
Congrats to wood-n-block for being the FTF!