Thomas A. McClelland deeded the 166 acres to the City of Joplin on March 22, 1908. Mr. McClelland was a pioneer businessman, first City Assessor in 1873; promoter and first Secretary, Joplin Exposition Co., which in 1879, purchased 40 acres in the southwest area of Joplin and built a race track; agricultural hall, grandstand and stables, and held Joplin’s first fair in the fall of 1879.
