Saint Joseph (pop. 72,473; met. area pop. 121,467) is an agricultural trading center in northwestern Missouri. It lies on the east bank of the Missouri River, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Kansas City.
St. Joseph is a trading center for farm products from parts of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. The city’s chief manufactured products include medicines for livestock and other animals and pet food. Missouri Western State University is in the city.
Landmarks include the 1859 Missouri Valley Trust Building and the 1873 Buchanan County Courthouse. The Patee House Museum was a pony express headquarters in 1860 and 1861 (see Pony express ). The Jesse James Home Museum is where the famous bank robber once lived and where he was killed in 1882.
Joseph Robidoux, a French fur trader, founded St. Joseph in 1826. In the 1840’s and 1850’s, settlers heading west used the city as a starting point. In the last half of the 1800’s, the city’s many wholesale companies and other businesses made it a center of trade for the western half of the country. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the city was an important meat-packing center.
St. Joseph is the seat of Buchanan County. The city has a council-manager government.
