St. Joseph, Missouri

Saint Joseph (informally St. Joe) is the largest city in northwest Missouri, serving as the county seat for Buchanan County. With a 2009 estimated population of 76,222, Saint Joseph is the eighth largest city in the state. The St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Buchanan, Andrew, and DeKalb counties in Missouri and Doniphan County, Kansas, had an estimated population of 126,359 in 2008. Saint Joseph is also home to Missouri Western State University, which in 2010 became the training camp home of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League.

Downtown St. Joseph is approximately 37 miles north-northwest of Kansas City International Airport via Interstate 229 and Interstate 29.

History
Saint Joseph was founded by Joseph Robidoux, a local fur trader, and 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 over the Missouri River toward the "Wild West", this due largely to the fact that it was the westernmost point in the United States accessible by rail until after the American Civil War.

The main east west downtown streets were named for Robidoux's children: Faraon, Jules, Francis, Felix, Edmond, Charles, Sylvanie, and Messanie. The street between Sylvanie and Messanie was named for his second wife, Angelique.

Several events of particular historical note occurred in Saint Joseph. Between April 3, 1860, and late October 1861, Saint Joseph was one of the two endpoints of the Pony Express. In 1882, also on April 3, the notorious Jesse James was killed at his home, originally located at 1318 Lafayette, now sited next to The Patee House, a hotel that had formerly served as the home of both Patee Female College and St. Joseph Female College. James was living under the alias of Mr. Howard. An excerpt from a popular poem of the time is: "...that dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard has laid poor Jesse in his grave."

The Heaton-Bowman-Smith Funeral Home maintains a small museum about Jesse James. Their predecessors conducted the funeral. The museum is open to the public. His home, which has been relocated at least three times, is now maintained as a tourist attraction that features the bullet hole from that fateful shot. These two events lend Saint Joseph the slogan, "Where the Pony Express started and Jesse James ended."

Saint Joseph peaked as an expansionist city in 1900, with a census population of 102,979. (However, this population figure is highly questionable, as civic leaders tried to inflate the numbers for that census. ) At the time, it was the home to one of the largest wholesale companies in the Midwest, the Nave & McCord Mercantile Company, as well as the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, and the C.D. Smith & Company, which would become C.D. Smith Healthcare.

In 1997, Saint Joseph was named an "All-America City" by the National Civic League. Saint Joseph was voted the top true western town of 2007 by the True West Magazine, in the January/February 2008 issue. St. Joseph is also the home of Rosecrans Memorial Airport and 139th Airlift wing of the Missouri National Guard.

Geography
Saint Joseph is located at °N, °W (39.757944, -94.836541), on the Missouri/Kansas border in northwestern Missouri. The nearest major metropolitan area to Saint Joseph is the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, which begins approximately 30 mi to the south. The nearest major airport is Kansas City International Airport, which is approximately 35 mi to the south. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.5 square miles (115.3 km²), of which, 43.8 square miles (113.5 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.7 km²) of it (1.48%) is water.

Demographics
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 1,687.7 people per square mile (651.6/km²). There were 31,752 housing units at an average density of 724.2/sq mi (279.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.88% White, 5.03% African American, 0.46% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.61% 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 non-families. 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.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,663, and the median income for a family was $40,995. Males had a median income of $31,300 versus $21,592 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,445. About 9.1% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

Retail
Saint Joseph is home to several retail areas, many of which are grouped along Belt Highway on the city's east side. East Hills Mall is located at North Belt Highway and Frederick Boulevard. The mall opened in 1965, was expanded in 1989, and was renovated in 2001 with a far more extensive renovation in 2008 and 2009.

Developed in 2005, the Shoppes at North Village is concentrated along North Belt Highway between approximately Cook and County Line roads. This serves as a regional shopping destination, and features Sam's Club, Home Depot, Target, Kohl's, Old Navy, Dress Barn, Famous Footwear, Payless ShoeSource, T.J. Maxx, Pier 1 Imports, Bed Bath & Beyond, Petco, Michaels, Borders Books & Music, and Best Buy, along with several smaller tenants. Restaurants located here include Bob Evans, 54th Street Grill & Bar, Chili's, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Panda Express, Chick-fil-A, Cheddar's, Olive Garden, Famous Dave's, and Buffalo Wild Wings. A 10-screen movie theater is also located next to Kohl's.

Other shopping districts include Belt Center, Hy-Vee Shopping Center, Hillcrest Plaza, East Ridge Village, Northgate Shopping Center, and Woodlawn Shopping Center.

Education
The St. Joseph School District operates 3 public high schools, 4 public middle schools and 16 public elementary schools in St. Joseph. There are three private grade schools, a private high school and a private K-12 Christian school. In addition, there is an active HOME education community that serves the city and surrounding areas. In higher education, Saint Joseph is the home of a regional public university as well as a public university outreach center, a public technical school and a private technical school.

Public elementary schools

 * Coleman Elementary School
 * Edison Elementary School
 * Ellison Elementary School
 * Eugene Field Elementary School
 * Hall Elementary School
 * Humboldt Elementary School
 * Hosea Elementary School
 * Hyde Elementary School
 * Lake Contrary Elementary School
 * Lindbergh Elementary School
 * Mark Twain Elementary School
 * Noyes Elementary School
 * Parkway Elementary School
 * Pershing Elementary School
 * Pickett Elementary School
 * Skaith Elementary School

Public middle schools

 * Bode Middle School
 * Robidoux Middle School
 * Spring Garden Middle School
 * Truman Middle School

Public high schools

 * Benton High School
 * Central High School
 * Lafayette High School

Private schools

 * Bishop LeBlond High School
 * Cathedral Grade School
 * St. Francis Xavier Grade School
 * St. James Grade School
 * Saint Joseph Christian School
 * St. Paul Lutheran School
 * Prescott Seventh-Day Adventist School
 * Saint Paul 7th National School of Brookingham
 * Remington's cathedral

Colleges and universities

 * Missouri Western State University
 * Northwest Missouri State University
 * St. Joseph Center

Special focus institutions

 * Vatterott College
 * American College of Technology

Places of interest

 * Jesse James Home Museum
 * Krug Park
 * Parkway Saint Joseph, Missouri
 * Pony Express Museum
 * Rosecrans Memorial Airport
 * Missouri Theatre
 * Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp

Notable natives

 * Eminem
 * Kay Barnes
 * Norbert Brodine
 * Dwayne Blakley
 * Charles Francis Buddy
 * Rob Calloway
 * Matt Cates
 * Walter Cronkite
 * Katherine Kennicott Davis
 * Ralph D. Foster
 * Betty Garrett
 * Anthony Glise
 * Jody Hamilton
 * Maanie Hamzaee
 * Coleman Hawkins
 * Shere Hite
 * Edie Huggins
 * Jesse James
 * Timothy Omundson
 * Issac Parker
 * Tom Pendergast
 * Arthur Pryor
 * Manuel Sanchez
 * Jay Sarno
 * Bill Snyder
 * Steve Walsh
 * Ruth Warrick
 * James H. Webb
 * Jane Wyman
 * Delmer J. Yoakum
 * Kagney Linn Karter
 * Mike Rucker
 * Martin Rucker
 * Martin T. Rucker
 * Nellie Tayloe Ross

Television stations

 * KQTV, Channel 2, KQ2 (ABC)
 * KTAJ, Channel 16, TV16 (TBN)
 * News-Press 3 NOW, Cable Channel 3, NP3N (Local)

Radio stations

 * KFEQ, 680 AM (news/talk)
 * KGNM, 1270 AM (Christian)
 * KKJO, 105.5 FM (hot AC)
 * KESJ, 1550 AM (sports talk)
 * KSJQ, 92.7 FM (country)
 * KSRD, 91.9 FM (Christian)
 * KAIR 1470 AM (Catholic)
 * KEXS-FM, 106.1 FM (Catholic)

Newspapers

 * St. Joseph News-Press
 * The Saint Joseph Telegraph
 * Estrella Norteña
 * The Regular Joe