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About thirty miles north of the
Kansas City metropolitan area lies the historic city of St.
Joseph, Missouri. It is here that the life of the Pony Express
began and the life of Jesse James ended. Also known more
familiarly as St. Joe, to the locals, this town got its start in
1826 when Joseph Robidoux, a local trader, established the
Blacksnake Hills trading post with the Indians. Before long,
Robidoux developed a trading empire that stretched as far west
as the Rocky Mountains. The first post office in the area was
housed in Robidoux’s trading post in 1840. When the Platte
Purchase made his land part of the state of Missouri in 1837,
the trading post developed into a settlement that was
incorporated in 1943. Remaining relatively small, that all
changed with the gold discovery in California that greatly
accelerated westward migration. St. Joseph quickly became the
last supply and jumping off point before the many pioneers
headed towards the Wild West on the Oregon Trail. Thousands of
settlers arrived by steamboat, while hundreds of wagon trains
lined the streets waiting to be ferried across the Missouri
River. In 1949 alone, some have estimated that as many as 50,000
pioneers passed through St. Joseph. The city quickly became a
bustling outpost and rough frontier town, as covered wagons,
oxen, and supplies purchased by the emigrants established the
economic basis for the city. Additional growth came to the city
in 1859 as the railroad pushed west to St. Joseph, further
assuring its role as a distribution point for the west. St.
Joseph remained the westernmost point in the U.S. accessible by
rail until after the Civil War. Additionally, St. Joseph's
proximity to the Missouri River added to its phenomenal growth.
In 1860, St. Joseph became the headquarters and launching point
for the Pony Express. The first successful Pony Express run,
from St. Joseph, to Sacramento, California took place on April
3, 1860, when a lone rider on a bay mare galloped from Pike's
Peak Stables in St. Joseph. Before the advent of the Pony
Express, the railroads and telegraph lines extended no further
west than St. Joseph, and mail traveled west by stagecoach and
wagons, a trip that could take months, if it arrived at all. The
Pony Express alleviated this problem with riders who could
dramatically reduce the amount of time it took for the mail to
be delivered. The Pony Express is credited with helping to keep
California in the Union by providing rapid communication between
the two coasts. News of the election of Abraham Lincoln to the
United States presidency in 1860 and of the outbreak of the
American Civil War in 1861 reached California via the Pony
Express. While the Pony Express dramatically improved the
communication between the east and west, it was a financial
disaster for its owners. After the Pacific Telegraph Company
completed its line to San Francisco in October, 1861, the
company declared bankruptcy and closed down. By the 1870s, St.
Joseph had become the wholesale center for the building of the
West, which led to an age of prosperity numerous businesses were
located in the city and beautiful mansions were built. In
December, 1881, Jesse James made St. Joseph his home, hiding
behind the alias Tom Howard. However, life was not to |
