A drawing by Ralph Downing, published on April 16th 1903th in the Joplin Globe. The drawing shows the lynching of Thomas Gilyard.

In 1901, Missouri born author Mark Twain wrote an essay titled "The United States of Lyncherdom" in response to the Pierce City lynchings. He had intended the essay for publication, but decided it was too politically sensitive. The essay was finally…

An excerpt from an article published in the New York Times on April 16th, 1906. For educational use only, all copy rights held by the New York Times. Accessed online on June 23rd 2013.

An article from the Chicago Daily Tribune, featuring a letter written to the paper by a Black Joplin Native.

Lynching postcards were popular in the Jim Crow South, and while this is not a photo of a lynching, it still demonstrates the perverse fascination with public murder held by a large number of White Ozarkians.

The handwritten text beneath the card…

Cloth bound book. Binding completely destroyed. All pages intact.

Iron ankle chain. Chain is contemporary, added to show function.

Annotated 1904 Missouri county map showing the dates of lynchings in Pierce City, Joplin and Springfield, MO.

Two heavy iron ball weights connected with chain links.

Farming tool used to bore holes. Constructed of wood and iron.