Saturday, February 23, 2019

St. Joseph, MO History

St. Joseph, Missouri was established by fur trader Joseph Robidoux who lived from 1783-1868. The location in northwest Missouri where Joseph Robidoux developed his Blacksnake Hills Trading Post is modern day St. Joseph, Missouri with a population of about 75,000.

Years before founding one of the existing day ten biggest cities in the state of Missouri Robidoux grew up on the other side of the state in St. Louis, Missouri where he had six siblings. From an early age Joseph and his brothers were taught the family company of fur trading by their father who in the eighteenth century began sending out Joseph up and down the Missouri River as a teen to sharpen his trade.

In what is presently the city of Chicago Joseph Robidoux set up a fur trading post beside Fort Dearborn, Illinois however paradoxically his success led to his demise. As legend has it Joseph was such a proficient young businessman that more recognized senior males practicing his craft did not think too kindly of having a young up and comer stepping into their area and disrupting their established business. To fix the disruption that Joseph triggered the Fort Dearborn residents persuaded regional Indians to threaten and disturb Joseph till he was rather literally run out of town.

After leaving Illinois Joseph established himself in contemporary Omaha, Nebraska and settled with his 2nd wife (after the 1805 death of his first partner Eugenie) with an 1813 wedding to Angelique Vaudry. In between his 2 marriages Joseph had eight kids (2 from the very first marital relationship and six from the 2nd) and today the names of a lot of those children embellish a few of the most frequently utilized streets in the city of St. Joseph, Missouri which he eventually founded. Among names of his children that have actually because been immortalized with streets named in their honor are Messanie, Faraon, Francis, Felix, and Edmond. While those names most likely seem a bit outdated to most folks in the twenty-first century anybody who has actually spent a substantial amount of time around St. Joseph, Missouri immediately recognizes those names as some of the most high traffic streets in town.

Joseph Robidoux offered his effective Nebraska fur trading organisation in 1822 to the American Fur Company and decided to leave the location after being inspired by the American Fur Company with a $1,000 yearly payment for following a non-compete contract.

After spending time back in St. Louis after offering his service to the American Fur Company Robidoux was later worked with by the American Fur Business to start a Blacksnake Hills trading post in northwest Missouri near Kansas City and in doing so Joseph Robidoux laid the groundwork for the city of St. Joseph, Missouri that has held his name for over 150 years.

 

 

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