Mercy's St. John's Hospital once stood here until an EF-5 tornado struck it directly on May 22, 2011. The tornado's destruction continued eastward, at one point nearly a mile wide, and eventually claimed 161 lives, making it one of the deadliest tornadoes in American history. In 2016, five years after complete devastation at this site, Mercy Park was dedicated by the City of Joplin using Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant funds. Mercy Hospital donated the land, which was designed as a passive green space for relaxation and enjoyment of the landscape and natural setting. The park's green spaces provide cleaner air and water, improve quality of life, offer habitat for birds and other wildlife, and help create corridors that meet wildlife resource needs when connected with other small green areas. Its features include a pond for stormwater control and wildlife water, a meadow similar to the tallgrass prairie that once covered much of western Missouri, an open woodland like the savanna ecosystem once common in much of Missouri, and walking paths accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.