St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Buchanan, Andrew, and DeKalb counties in Missouri and Doniphan County, Kansas. As of the 2020 census, St. Joseph had a population of 72,473, making it the 8th most populous city in the state, and the 3rd most populous in Northwest Missouri. St. Joseph is located roughly north of the Kansas City, Missouri city limits and approximately south of Omaha, Nebraska.
The city was named after the town's founder Joseph Robidoux and the biblical Saint Joseph. In the nineteenth century, it was the death place of American outlaw Jesse James. It was also the starting point of the Pony Express serving the West. Today, St. Joseph is home to Missouri Western State University, which enrolls over 3,800 students.
History
St. Joseph was founded on the Missouri River by Joseph Robidoux, a local fur trader of French Canadian descent. It was officially incorporated in 1843. In its early days, it was a bustling outpost and rough frontier town, serving as a last supply point and jumping-off point for travelers on the Missouri River toward the "Wild West". It was the westernmost point in the United States accessible by rail until after the American Civil War, which helped earn it the designation "Gateway to the West."
The main east–west downtown streets were named for Robidoux's eight children: Faraon, Jules, Francois (Francis), Felix, Edmond, Charles, Sylvanie, and Messanie. The street between Sylvanie and Messanie was named for his second wife, Angelique.
St. Joseph, or "St. Joe", as it was called by many, was a "Jumping-Off Point" for those migrants headed to the Oregon Territory in the mid-1800s. Such cities, including Independence, and St. Joseph, were where pioneers would stay and purchase supplies before they headed out in wagon trains across the Great Plains. The town was a very lively place.
Between April 3, 1860, and late October 1861, St. Joseph was one of the two endpoints of the Pony Express, which operated for a short period over the land then inaccessible by rail, to provide fast mail service. Today the Pony Express Museum hosts visitors in the former stables of the company. St. Joseph is identified by the slogan, "Where the Pony Express started and Jesse James ended."
The town's main hotel was Patee House. In the post-Civil War years, when the economy was down, the hotel was used for a time by the Patee Female College. It was occupied by the St. Joseph Female College up to 1880.St. Joseph History - Jesse James Home .
In 1874 the State Lunatic Asylum #2 was opened just East of St. Joseph. The asylum, originally built for 250 patients, opened its doors with more than 300. The asylum was mostly self-sustaining with three large farms, power plant, fire department, metal shops, wood shops, dairy and more, all worked by the patients. Over the decades the asylum grew rapidly, reaching its peak of close to 3,000 patients by the 1940s. In 1968 occupational therapist George Glore, with the help of his patients, recreated several historic treatment devices for Mental Health Awareness Month. This was the start of the Glore Psychiatric Museum. Now the largest museum of its kind in the world, the museum shows the history mental health treatment and still houses the original exhibits created by George Glore and his patients.
Outlaw Jesse James lived here under the alias "Mr. Howard". The song, "Jesse James", includes the lines, "...that dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard has laid poor Jesse in his grave." On April 3, 1882, James was killed at his home, originally located at 1318 Lafayette. It has been relocated next to the Patee House and still has the visible bullet hole from the fatal shot. It is now operated as the Jesse James Home Museum.
The Heaton-Bowman-Smith Funeral Home maintains a small museum about Jesse James. Their predecessors conducted his funeral.
St. Joseph was the second city in the US to install electric streetcars; regular service was initiated on July 4, 1888.St. Joseph News-Press, June 28, 1992, p. 58 by Gary Chilcote Among properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places are Robidoux Row, buildings owned by the founder and used for his family trading and mercantile business; the Patee House, now serving as a museum displaying St. Joseph's history, and the Missouri Theatre, an ornate movie palace. The Walnut Park Farm Historic District near St. Joseph was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
St. Joseph's population peaked in 1900, with a census population of 102,979. This population figure is questionable, as civic leaders were known to have tried to raise the numbers for that census. At the time, Saint Joseph was home to one of the largest wholesale companies in the Midwest, the Nave & McCord Mercantile Company, as well as the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, and the C.D. Smith & Company. C.D. Smith later became C.D. Smith Healthcare.
Prior to 1954 and desegregation, Bartlett High School served St. Joseph's African American students. It became Horace Mann Elementary with desegregation. You can learn about the Bartlett School at the Black Archives Museum of St. Joseph. St. Joseph's African American community leaders and Nathaniel C. Bruce were involved in and supported the establishment of Bartlett Agricultural and Industrial School in Dalton, Missouri. It was modeled after Tuskegee Institute and Hampton Institute.
Geography and climate
Saint Joseph is located on the Missouri/Kansas border in northwestern Missouri, also close to Nebraska; Iowa is another farther north. The nearest major metropolitan area to St. Joseph is the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, which begins approximately to the south. The nearest major airport is Kansas City International Airport, which is approximately to the south. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Several water bodies and streams are located in St. Joseph besides the Missouri River. Roys Branch sources just northwest of Krug Park and travels southwest and enters the Missouri River next to Remington Nature Center. Whitehead Creek headwaters southeast of St. Joseph and flows northwest into the Missouri River just southwest of downtown. Corby Pond, a public lake in Corby Park, is a popular fishing location. Lake Contrary is located just southwest of St. Joseph and has a beach.
Under the Köppen climate classification, St. Joseph has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) bordering on a humid continental climate (Dfa), although under United States isotherms of the station is firmly continental. The monthly weather averages listed below are taken from National Weather Service 1981–2010 normals recorded at Rosecrans Airport. Because of the airport's location near the Missouri River and at a low elevation, official overnight lows during wintertime especially are often several degrees colder than at other places within the city. Snowfall is not recorded at the St. Joseph weather station although surrounding reporting stations typically receive of snowfall annually.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, St. Joseph had a population of 72,473 and 29,051 households; there were 16,841 families. The population density was 1,645.6 per square mile (635.4/km). The median age was 38.0 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.8 males age 18 and over.
99.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 29,051 households in St. Joseph, of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.2% were married-couple households, 21.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 33,028 housing units, of which 12.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 12.9%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 58,529 80.8% Black or African American 4,367 6.0% American Indian and Alaska Native 414 0.6% Asian 1,039 1.4% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 437 0.6% Some other race 1,905 2.6% Two or more races 5,782 8.0% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 5,298 7.3%
2016–2020 American Community Survey
The 2016–2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $48,716 (with a margin of error of +/- $2,421) and the median family income was $60,272 (+/- $2,679). Males had a median income of $34,486 (+/- $1,611) versus $25,623 (+/- $1,474) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $30,229 (+/- $1,494). Approximately, 12.0% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.9% of those under the age of 18 and 7.9% of those ages 65 or over.
2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 76,780 people, 29,727 households, and 18,492 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 33,189 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.8% White, 6.0% Black, 0.5% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.0% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.7% of the population.
There were 29,727 households, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.8% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18; 11.7% between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.1% from 25 to 44; 24.9% from 45 to 64; and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age in the city was 35.6 years. The gender makeup of the city was 49.8% male and 50.2% female.
2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 73,990 people, 29,026 households, and 18,460 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 31,752 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.9% White, 5.0% Black, 0.5% Native American, 0.5% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population.
There were 29,026 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were single-family households. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.