Wild West in St. Joe

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Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Robidoux Row is the house of the first settler in the area, Joseph Robidoux, who founded St. Joseph. He established a fur trading business and the area soon grew into the trading town of Black Snake Hills, which eventually became St. Joseph. His house was also a series of hotel-like apartments for travelers who were waiting for their new homes to be built. Robidoux Row is now a museum that explores the history of St. Joseph and westward expansion. Many of Robidoux's personal items are on display and rooms have been restored to their 19th-century appearance. The building is also the location of the St. Joseph Historical Society.

2. Mount Mora Cemetery

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, Mount Mora Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in St. Joseph, Missouri. It was established in the early 1850s to meet the needs of a growing town. People buried here include three Missouri governors, musicians, Civil War officers from both the Union and the Confederacy, Pony Express riders, and governors. Though it was primarily used by the rich, there is a variety of graves from mausoleums to simple headstones, showing the wide range of people interred in the cemetery. The mausoleums, of which there are 30, are particularly notable. Resembling small buildings, their ornate design reflects Egyptian and Classical architecture and the wealth of the those within them.

3. Missouri Valley Trust Company

Though this building is no longer being used, the Missouri Valley Trust Co. is what is left of the early commercial center in St. Joseph MO. Originally the Missouri Valley Trust Co. was called the Bank of the State of Missouri. The commercial area in which the bank was located was fueled by people coming into St. Joseph as they moved westward. The bank boasts the title of the oldest bank in St. Joseph, as well as the oldest west of the Mississippi.

4. Pony Express National Museum

The Pony Express was a mail relay system that started in St. Joseph, MO. and ended in Sacramento, CA. Riders would carry the mail on horseback, stopping at relay stations for meals and a change of horses. The Pony Express started in 1860 but was shut down after the completion of the transcontinental telegraph lines in 1861. The Pony Express Museum is in the original building where the riders would start their journey west. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. The museum, which was founded in the 1950s, features a number of exhibits that explore the history and legacy of the Pony Express.

5. John D. Richardson Dry Goods Co.

This seven-story building was completed in 1892 for the John D. Richardson Dry Goods Company, a firm operated by ohn D. Richardson and his partner John Brittain. The company produced and sold goods throughout the region and experienced growth at the turn-of-the century that lasted until the late 1920s. The company went out of business in the 1930s and the building later became home to the American Electric Company.

6. Livestock Exchange

Currently vacant and in disrepair as of early 2019, the Livestock Exchange building holds tremendous significant for St. Joseph. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was once the main hub of the country's fifth largest livestock trading and meatpacking center. The four-story building was constructed in 1899 and remains a fine example of Classical Revival architecture, despite its dilapidated condition. The St. Joseph Stockyard Company and other tenants, including a USDA office, occupied the building through the end of 2004. It was at that point that it was abandoned. Today, the non-profit Friends of St. Joseph owns the old building and is hoping to restore it. The stockyards are still in operation, although it is not the same size as it was.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Wild West in St. Joe

Created by Public History (University of Central Missouri) on December 5th 2017, 10:12:34 am.

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Description

This tour takes you back in time to St. Joseph, Missouri during the 1840's-1900's. Going from the house of the first settler in St. Joseph, Joseph Robidoux to the Livestock Exchange building just outside of town, the tour looks at different historic buildings that played a part in westward expansion or just someone's idea of the "wild west". People who take the tour will see places where that contributed to folks in the 19th century going west like the John D. Richardson Dry Goods Co. or key places in Missouri's part in the wild west like the home where the notorious bank robber Jesse James lived and eventually was killed in.

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Wild West in St. Joe

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