That new town north of Kansas City was originally called Blacksnake Hills, but got the new name of St. Joseph, partly from the biblical St. Joseph and partly from Joseph Robidoux’s first name.
Joseph Robidoux was a fur trader who moved to the area around 1826 to set up a trading post for the American Fur Company at one of the final outposts on the frontier of the Wild West.
The area began to grow following the Platte Purchase and as more settlers came to the area heading west. The village was then christened St. Joseph.
St. Joe would later gain notoriety as the birthplace of the Pony Express.
Photo credit: [Missouri Postcard Collection, P0032. P0032-St Joseph-001.jpg], The State Historical Society of Missouri.
