oseph Robidoux III paddled and poled up the Missouri River throughout the early years of the 19th century.

In 1827, the 43-year-old entrepreneur returned to the Blacksnake Hills to establish a trading post that would eventually become the city of St. Joseph. As more pioneers came west, the government bought out the Indians living along the northwestern border of Missouri in 1837. This led to the creation of the Platte Purchase, which was added to Missouri. As a part of the Platte Purchase in 1837, the territories of the current counties of Buchanan, Andrew, Atchison, Holt, Platte and Nodaway officially became a part of the state of Missouri. Settlers were coming to the rich prairie lands, and they needed lumber and flour mills as well as other essential services. Robidoux began creating a town by starting new businesses and then selling those firms to others. In 1843, Robidoux engaged both Frederick W. Smith and Simeon Kemper to design a town for him. Ultimately, Robidoux chose Smith’s plan. Some say Smith’s plan was selected because it featured much narrower streets — leaving more land for him to sell in the form of lots. Plans for the town were filed with the clerk of Common Pleas in St. Louis on July 26, 1843. Shortly thereafter, Joseph began selling lots, with corner lots going for $150 and interior lots for $100. In 1846, St. Joseph became the Buchanan county seat, but it was not officially incorporated as city until 1885. Less than 20 years after Robidoux built his first home, more than 3,400 people lived on the streets named after his family: Robidoux, Angelique, Messanie, Sylvanie, Charles, Felix, Faraon, Francis, Edmond and Jules. As the city grew, new streets got the names of pioneers and politicians, i.e. Beattie, Corby, Hall, Patee, Poulin, Powell, Ridenbaugh and Woodson. By 1860, St. Joseph was Missouri’s second largest city, and the

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St. Joseph’s rich history starts with fur trader

start of the Pony Express seemed to be a promise of continued prosperity, but the beginning of the Civil War slowed the community’s growth. After the Civil War, Kansas City started moving forward and would surpass St. Joseph. The failure to erect a bridge over the Missouri River before neighboring Kansas City also put the town behind. The St. Joseph business community began to thrive again following the war, and by 1880, St. Joseph was the third largest city in the state and an economic anchor for the west with wholesalers who stocked and shipped almost anything an individual or business

City builds from humble beginnings

would need or want. This economic prosperity during the last 20 years of the 19th century still can be seen today in the mansions business leaders built and local preservationist have worked to save during the last half of the 20th century. Today, St. Joseph’s population hovers around 72,000. The economy is bustling with new retail and manufacturing ventures. Even as progress continues, St. Joseph continues to embrace its colorful heritage.

Joseph Robidoux III

Town founder was pioneer and entrepreneur

oseph Robidoux III rode into the northwestern hills of Missouri in the spring of 1826 as a fur trader and entrepreneur. The Robidoux family had been closely involved in early Missouri politics, using their St. Louis home as a meeting place. While living in St. Louis, he managed the fur trading enterprises of other family members and started a bakery. After his father’s death, he built the Robidoux trading empire that during his lifetime expanded westward. In 1822, the American Fur Company had bought the trading post Robidoux established near Council Bluffs, Iowa, and he returned to St. Louis. In 1827, the 43-year-old entrepreneur came back to the Blacksnake Hills to establish a trading post for the American Fur Company. He worked for the company for four years before ending that relationship and staying on as an independent trader in the Blacksnake Hills. With the help of family members, Robidoux created a trading empire that spread westward into Colorado and across the prairie to Nebraska and other western territories. Soon, Robidoux ran one of the larger trading posts on the western frontier and chartered a

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ferry system on the Missouri River, providing essential services to those settlers who passed through St. Joseph on their way west. In the first years that St. Joseph started to grow, he made money selling land and creating new businesses. In 1847, as settlers continued trekking west, he built a series of row apartments to rent to pioneers and to those who were building homes on new lots he sold. The California Gold Rush saw continued business opportunities for Robidoux. He invested his money in a local bank and other enterprises that showed promise. He was a founding member of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, and when the railroad finally connected St. Joseph to the eastern United States, Robidoux was invited to participate in the celebration. Not all of his financial schemes paid off, but he had enough funds to help family members start their own businesses. Through the years, his finances dwindled. He would spend his last years at an apartment in his row house, dying in the spring of 1868. Today, the St. Joseph Historical Society has restored that row house and continues to tell the story of the city founder. For more information, read about Robidoux in “Postcards from the Past, Images Stamped in St. Joseph, Mo.” The St. Joseph Museums and the Patee House Museum also have collections and information about the city founder.