Seniors Explore Fascinating St. Joseph

St. Joseph Missouri, between Kansas City and Omaha on Interstate 29, is the largest city in northwest Missouri with a population of over 77,000. St. Joseph is perhaps best known as the starting point of the Pony Express and the death place of Jesse James.

Fascinating historical sites and museums commemorate the generations of folks who have made the area their home. It’s hard to even go a few feet in the city without coming across a historical marker that recounts an extraordinary story, and that’s what senior visitors remember best about the city.

St. Joseph was founded on the Missouri River by Joseph Robidoux, a local fur trader from St. Louis, and was officially incorporated in 1843. Robidoux laid out the town in 1843 and named it for his patron saint.

In its early days, it was a bustling outpost and rough frontier town, serving as a last supply and jumping-off point on the Missouri River and toward the “Wild West.”  St. Joseph, or “St. Jo”, as it is called by the locals, was a “Jumping-Off Point” for those headed to the Oregon Territory in the mid-1800s.

 Seniors Find History All Over

The main draws for senior visitors include the Patee House Museum, Pony Express Museum and the Missouri Theater. The city overflows with history and you will find a plethora of historical buildings, mansions, and traditions that still remain in St. Jo.

The city is fortunate to be settled along the longest river in the nation, a river that brings with it opportunities for commerce, recreation, and beauty. In its 2,320 mile-journey, the Missouri River flows past while ballplayers catch pop flies at the Heritage Park Sports Complex, senior visitors dine al fresco at the St. Jo Frontier Casino, and other seniors visit the Remington Nature Center.

Factory workers make wire rope cables, downtown merchants flip their signs from “closed” to “open”, and employees in the St. Jo stockyard area continue the livestock business that started back in 1887. St. Jo takes pride in its history and the river is the beginning of that history.

The St. Joseph Metro Chamber’s ‘Parties on the Parkway’ concert series always ends the summer with a bash along the river’s banks near the Remington Nature Center. It is fitting to celebrate there—a full circle—saying farewell to summer near the exact spot where Joseph Robidoux welcomed travelers and pioneers to his trading post.

The Missouri River gave the city its beginning and continues to help it grow in both commerce and recreation. Senior visitors can take part in living history and enjoy St. Jo.  jeb