I like timelines. They are a quick and efficient summary of facts. They help provide clues about details on which I need more research. Today, as I strove to settle on a topic to share, I found several. I eventually decided they would be better published during a different month. However, after considering my recent cover reveal, I felt a review—a quick review, timeline style—of St. Joseph, Missouri, was in order.
1821 – The State of Missouri was established.
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| Joseph Robidoux III |
1826 – Joseph Robidoux, an employee of the American Fur Company, founded as the Blacksnake Hill trading post which became present-day St. Joseph. After he became an independent trader, he and his five brothers operated the trading post and developed the city of St. Joseph.
1843 – Frederick W. Smith and Simeon Kemper were hired by Robidoux to design a town. Robidoux preferred Smith’s plan. Both plans were filed with the clerk of Common Pleas in St. Louis on July 26, 1843. Robidoux named streets after his children and second wife. He built a row of homes for his grandchildren.
1848 – St. Joseph remained fairly small until after the discovery of gold in California in 1848. This greatly altered and accelerated westward migration.
Late 1840s-early 1850s – St. Joseph became a last supply and “jumping-off” point for wagon trains preparing to travel the Oregon and California Trails. It became the head water for the journey west as hundreds of thousands of settlers arrived by steamboat and hundreds of wagon trains lined the streets waiting to be ferried across the Missouri River. The covered wagons, oxen and supplies purchased by the emigrants established the economic foundation of the city.
1851 – St. Joseph was incorporated.
1859 – Railroad from the East arrived in St. Joseph.
April 1860-October 1861 – The Pony Express began operation in St. Joseph.
1861-65 – With loyalties divided, the American Civil War years proved to be a turbulent time for St. Joseph.
View of St. Joseph as seen from Kansas side of Missouri River
1860s – James H.
Lucas steamship Traveled the Missouri River from St. Louis to St. Joseph, a
total distance of 561 miles in 61 hours. At the time, it was the fastest trip
made between the two cities.
1870s – Principle channels of distribution were established, which allowed St. Joseph to become a leading wholesale center for building in the West.
Jesse James as John Howard
1882 – Jesse James,
living in St. Joseph under the alias, Mr. Howard, was shot and killed at his
home.
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| Early St. Joseph Stockyard |
1886 – The Chicago Times reported that St. Joseph, with a population of 60,000, had eleven railroads, 70 passenger trains each day, 170 factories, thirteen miles of the best paved streets, the largest stockyard west of Chicago, and a wholesale trade as large as that of Kansas City and Omaha combined.
1887 – St. Joseph Stockyards were opened, and several meat packing houses were established.
1890s Chicago's first electric street car
1888 – Service on
electric street cars began. St. Joseph was the second city to install electric
streetcars.
1880s-1890s – The “golden age of prosperity” for St. Joseph.
St. Joseph U.S. Census population chart courtesy St. Joseph Memory Lane
1900 – St. Joseph’s
population peaked.
The book cover that was officially revealed yesterday was my Florence’s Good Deed, Book 6 in the Rejected Mail Order Brides series. In my 2023 book, Elise, I introduced Florence and Asher (Ash) and promised they would have their own romance. This is it.
In Elise, the hero, Kurt Neumann, travels with Ash on the steamboat from Fort Benning, Montana Territory, as far as St. Joseph, Missouri, where he deposits the majority of his savings earned during his enlistment as a soldier. After visiting family—and meeting Elise—he returns to St. Joseph before he continues on.
Will Ash and Florence end up returning to St. Joseph also? Wait and see.
Elise is now available as an ebook, both for purchase and at no additional cost with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. It is also available in print. To find the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE.
Florence’s Good Deed is now on pre-order. It is scheduled for release on April 15, 2024. To find the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE.
Sources:
http://www.stjosephmemorylane.com/
https://www.stjosephmo.gov/151/History-of-St-Joseph
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph,_Missouri
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