July 4th Wednesday (1804)
…proceeded on, passed the mouth of a Bayeau lading from a large Lake on the S.S. which has the appearance of being once the bed of the river & reaches parrelel for several Miles…
William Clark
Traveling up the . . . — — Map (db m44569) HM
Missouri was a beginning and end for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Planned by President Thomas Jefferson and carried out by the two captains and a large crew, the expedition is a keystone American event. When the United States took ownership of . . . — — Map (db m44590) HM
The land that would become Missouri and 14 other western states was acquired by the United States in the greatest land acquisition in American history: the Louisiana Purchase. By the stroke of a pen, President Thomas Jefferson ensured the country . . . — — Map (db m44615) HM
"Groops of Shrubs covered with the most delicious froot is to be seen in every direction, and nature appears to have exerted herself to butify the Senery by the variety of flours [flowers] Delicately and highly flavered raised above the Grass, . . . — — Map (db m44624) HM
Just south of Fort Smith hundreds of slaves escaped by crossing the frozen Missouri River during the winter of 1862-1863. Once in eastern Kansas, the slaves would move on to Iowa, Chicago, and other points north.
Slavery in Missouri generally . . . — — Map (db m79287) HM
On Francis Street at 11th Street, on the left when traveling east on Francis Street.
Fire Support Specialist
71st Calvary Regiment
3rd Brigade Combat Team
10th Mountain Division
Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan
The Littlest Soldier with the Biggest Heart
Greater love hath no [man] than this,
that he lay . . . — — Map (db m55835) WM
On 10th Street near Seneca Street, on the left when traveling north.
• Built July, 1937 in West Burlington,
Iowa by C.B.&Q. at a cost of $99,285.00
• Weight 288 Tons or 576,000 lbs.
• Class 0-5-B Northern Type
• Used in Passenger and Freight Service
• Later Improvements Totaled $107,525.00
• . . . — — Map (db m47491) HM
On Felix Street at 7th Street, on the left when traveling east on Felix Street.
Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Coleman Hawkins got his first saxophone at age nine and was traveling coast to coast, recording with Mamie Smith and the Jazz Hounds while still in his teens. Credited with making the sax a solo jazz instrument, . . . — — Map (db m66410) HM
Born in Phil. Pa. Dec. 6, 1808,
Died in St. Joseph Mo.
Apr. 28, 1898
Aged 89 years.
United with the M. E. Church
in 1834.
A member of the I.O.O.F.
from 1850 till death.
In June 1827, became a professional undertaker and funeral . . . — — Map (db m66453) HM
On Francis Street at 5th Strret, on the left when traveling east on Francis Street.
Robert Washington Donnell, one of the first settlers of the Platte Purchase, was instrumental in organizing the Bank of the State of Missouri and securing St. Joseph's position as the eastern terminus of the Pony Express. — — Map (db m66385) HM
Fort Smith was erected in September 1861 as a Union fortification. St. Joseph was of great importance to preservation of the United States and the security of the goldfields of California for the war effort.
A military presence in St. Joseph . . . — — Map (db m79280) HM
On 7th Street at Felix Street, on the right when traveling south on 7th Street.
Designed by Eckel and Mann. The bank's owners were members of the German Krug family who were noted for their philanthropy.
This property has been
placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States . . . — — Map (db m66416) HM
Outlaw Jesse James was shot and killed in this house April 3, 1882. It was then at 1318 Lafayette on the hill above Patee House. It was moved here in 1977. — — Map (db m58835) HM
Near this site the French fur trader Joseph Robidoux established a trading post in 1826 while it was still Indian territory. Robidoux and his family oversaw a far-ranging fur trading empire.
The Platte Purchase of 1837 added the six county . . . — — Map (db m47468) HM
Joseph Robidoux, founder of St. Joseph, was the leader of a French-Canadian fur trading family which sent men out to trade with the Indians along the Missouri River and as far west as today's Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. From his first trip . . . — — Map (db m91000) HM
On 8th Street at Francis Street, on the right when traveling south on 8th Street.
Upper floors were originally leased to dentists and physicians while Krumm Florist and Haefli Real Estate occupied the main floor. — — Map (db m66393) HM
On 4th Street at Felix Street, on the right when traveling north on 4th Street.
Oldest building west of the Mississippi River to function continuously as a bank.
This property has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
Saint Joseph . . . — — Map (db m47475) HM
On Mount Mora Road, on the left when traveling north.
On April 1, 1846, Simeon Kemper obtained a United States government patent for one hundred sixty acres at $1.25 per acre. Four years later, Kemper took two partners, Israel Landis and Reuben Middleton, who paid him almost $200 per acre for their . . . — — Map (db m66373) HM
On Frederick Avenue (Business Interstate 29) at Faraon Street, on the right when traveling north on Frederick Avenue.
Too young and naïve
to think they could fail
Too full of visions
for the end of the trail
They stored their silk dresses
and donned calico
To join in the cry
of Westward Ho
Their diaries tell
of the endless hours
The . . . — — Map (db m55832) HM
On Penn Street at 12th Street, on the right when traveling east on Penn Street.
The Patee House was the Pony Express Company's Eastern Headquarters from April 3, 1860 to September 13, 1861. The company's official name was "The Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company."
John Patee built the hotel from . . . — — Map (db m47398) HM
On Penn Street at 12th Street, on the right when traveling east on Penn Street.
Patee House – 1858
In this National Historic Landmark were located the offices of the Pony Express, founded by Russell, Majors & Waddell; the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad and the Civil War offices of the U.S. Provost Marshall. [sic] . . . — — Map (db m47444) HM
On 10th Street (Business Interstate 29) near Seneca Street, on the right when traveling north.
Patee Park Baptist Church is the second oldest Baptist Church in St. Joseph. It began as a Sunday School in 1881 under the leadership of H.G. Walker, an active leader in the First Baptist Church of St. Joseph.
It was organized as a church . . . — — Map (db m48080) HM
On Penn Street at South 10th Street, on the left when traveling east on Penn Street.
John Patee came to St. Joseph in 1845 and opened the city's first drugstore at the corner of of Main and Francis Streets. He purchased 320 acres, platted what was known as "Patee Town" and began selling building lots in 1849. He later built the . . . — — Map (db m22072) HM
On Francis Street at 11th Street, on the left when traveling east on Francis Street.
[Numerous memorials to
fallen officers, including]
Joseph H. Killion
Patrolman - SJPD
Crushed By A Train In The
Line of Duty
Died June 14, 1917
Greater Love Hath No Man Than This,
That a Man Lay Down His Life For His . . . — — Map (db m55836) HM
Near Charles Street at South 11th Street, on the right when traveling east.
Sixteen years after the admission of Missouri to the Union. This territory now comprising six counties was purchased from the Sax, Fox and Ioway Indians. Negotiations for the United States were conducted by William Clark, Governor of Indian . . . — — Map (db m156350) HM
On this site, April 3, 1860, a ferry carrying a horse and rider crossed the Missouri River to start a 10 day journey of 1,966 miles to deliver mail to Sacramento, California.
The race against time, elements and a hostile land captured the spirit . . . — — Map (db m47470) HM
On 3rd Street at Felix Street, on the right when traveling south on 3rd Street.
On April 3, 1860 the eastern Pony Express mail arrived by train and it was late. To save time the Pony Express Company which was located in the Patee House at 12th and Penn Streets had the mail taken directly to the post office. The post office . . . — — Map (db m47480) HM
On Penn Street west of South 10th Street, on the left when traveling west.
1,996 miles in 10 days.
A daring horseback relay mail service connects the nation.
The Vision of the Pony Express
In January 1860. William H. Russell, Alexander Majors, and William B. Waddell, right, (partners in the freighting firm . . . — — Map (db m122600) HM
On Francis Street near 11th Street, on the right when traveling east.
With the faith and courage of
their forefathers who made
possible the freedom of these
United States
The Boy Scouts of America
dedicate this copy of the
Statue of Liberty as a pledge
of everlasting fidelity and
and loyalty . . . — — Map (db m55726) HM
Renowned city of the Pony Express, St. Joseph was first settled as a trading post for the American Fur Company by Joseph Robidoux, 1826. Later he acquired the site and laid out a town in 1843. St. Joseph became an outfitting point for settlers in . . . — — Map (db m4989) HM
On Francis Street at 11th Street, on the left when traveling east on Francis Street.
Killed in Action
Operation Iraqi Freedom
United States Army
3rd Battalion,
69th Armor Regiment,
3rd Infantry Division,
Fort Stewart, Ga
“I made the ultimate sacrifice for you” — — Map (db m55833) WM
In 1860, the United States stood on the brink of Civil War. Following the election of Abraham Lincoln as America's 16th President, states began seceding from the United States to form a new nation, the Confederate States of America.
In April . . . — — Map (db m79274) HM
St. Michael's Prairie
St. Michael’s Prairie, the site where St. Joseph would be established, was identified on maps at least as early as 1792. French explorers and trappers had been traveling up and down the Missouri River since the early . . . — — Map (db m47472) HM
Each spring thousands of emigrants camped in these hills and meadows waiting for new grass to support their teams along the trail. Wagons lined St. Joseph streets to the east waiting for two to three days to be ferried from this point. The settlers . . . — — Map (db m47467) HM
On April 3, 1860, the Pony Express started from this neighborhood on its historic run to the West. Eight months after the Pony Express joined East and West, the country split North to South when South Carolina seceded. Missouri, including St. . . . — — Map (db m48063) HM
On Penn Street near South 10th Street, on the right when traveling west.
This monument erected by the
Daughters of the American Revolution
and
The City of St. Joseph
marks the place where the first
Pony Express started on April 3, 1860 — — Map (db m47492) HM
On South 3rd Street near Edmond Street, on the left when traveling south.
After the 1848 discovery of gold in California, more than 100,000 sturdy Americans passed through St. Joseph on their way west in quest of wealth, opportunity and better lives. The "Gold Rush" began and those who followed the "Star of Empire" . . . — — Map (db m47479) HM
In 1804-06, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led about 40 soldiers and boatmen on an epic journey. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned this "Corps of Discovery" to find a route to the Pacific Ocean through the newly acquired . . . — — Map (db m89212) HM
The Men of the Corps of Discovery
During the winter of 1803, Lewis and Clark set up camp opposite the mouth of the Missouri River. Here they drilled and trained their men to prepare them for the task ahead. All of the men had been selected . . . — — Map (db m79291) HM
On South 9th Street (Business Interstate 29) north of Mitchell Avenue, on the left when traveling south.
For nearly 250 years the country school was the backbone of American education. These simple buildings often served as school, chapel, town hall and community center.
One-room schoolhouses were the most common type of schools in the Midwest . . . — — Map (db m122675) HM
On Penn Street near 12th Street, on the right when traveling east.
The Patee House
has been designated a
Registered National Historic Landmark
under the provisions of the
Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935
This site posseses exceptional value in commemorating and illustrating the history of . . . — — Map (db m47443) HM
On Penn Street at 12th Street, on the right when traveling east on Penn Street.
The Hotel Patee House opened in 1858 as St. Joseph’s finest hotel. It later served as the national Pony Express headquarters, the local Union Army headquarters, a women’s college and a factory. The building is now a National Historic Landmark. . . . — — Map (db m47441) HM
The National Significance of the Pony Express
The Pony Express ran from April 3, 1860, until the transcontinental telegraph was completed in October, 1861. The Pony Express proved that the Central Route to California could be traveled all . . . — — Map (db m79289) HM
On Penn Street near 12th Street, on the right when traveling east.
Between July 4 and October 24, 1861, a telegraph line was constructed by the Western Union Company between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, thereby completing the first high-speed communications line between the Atlantic and . . . — — Map (db m47465) HM
