According to the National Parks Service, historic preservation allows our past to have a conversation with our future. Historic preservation requires that we ask important questions about our community. What is our shared story? What do we want future generations to know about us? What is our city's character? Historic preservation allows diverse, multi-faceted stories to be told. It often involves celebrating events, people, places, and ideas that we are proud of; other times it involves recognizing moments in our history that can be painful or uncomfortable to remember. In short, historic preservation is about so much more than "old buildings".
Joplin's Historic Preservation Program
The City of Joplin was one of the first five communities to join the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office's (SHPO) Certified Local Government (CLG) program. In fact, Joplin was recently recognized for its 30th Anniversary as a CLG. As a CLG, Joplin has the responsibility to enact a historic preservation ordinance, appoint a preservation commission, conduct an ongoing survey and inventory of historic properties, and conduct public outreach and education. Additional information about Joplin's Historic Preservation Commission can be found here.
