Buchanan County, Missouri - Chapter 6: Early History of St. Joseph, 1904

RoBiDOUx AT Roy's Branch and Blacksnake Hills - First Settlers - The Town Platted and Lots Sold - First Municipal Government - First Business Houses, Hotels, Churches, Newspapers, etc. - Ordinances of the Town Board - Population at Various Periods - The Trading Post, the Settlement, the Village and the Town up to 1849.

The French were the earhest and most successful Indian traders. They settled Canada and the northwestern part of the United States, and also the country about the mouth of the Mississippi. Pierre Laclede Liguest, who is better known in history simply as Pierre Laclede, held by charter from the French government the exclusive right to trade with the Indians in all the country as far north as St. Peter's River. In 1764 he established a colony, out of which grew the present city of St. Louis. His followers consisted of daring frontiersmen, who made trading and trapping excursions into the wilderness before them, establishing posts at interior points, where peltries were collected and shipped to headquarters.

In 1808 the Chouteaus of St. Louis, and others, organized the Missouri Fur Company. In 18 1 3 the Missouri company was merged into the American h\u- Company, and the Chouteaus l^ecame connected with the latter.

A vigorous effort was at once made by this company to drive out the independent traders, and Francis Chouteau was sent forth to establish a chain of posts. Among the first posts thus established bv Chouteau was one on the

Kaw River, about 20 miles from its mouth, and known as the "Four Houses;" also one at the "Blufifs," the present site of Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Joseph Robidoux, of French parentage, born at St. Louis, was a rival trader at the "Bluffs," but in 1822 sold out to the company and agreed to remain away for three years. At the end of that period he announced his intention of again going into business at the old stand, but the fur company proposed to establish him at the mouth of what is now called Roy's Branch, just above the Blacksnake Hills, upon a salary of $1,800 per year, provided he would not interfere with the trade at the "Bluffs." This proposition he accepted, and, with a stock of goods, he landed his keel-boats at the mouth of the branch in the fall of 1826.

Robidoux soon recognized the superiority of a location at the mouth of Blacksnake Creek, and, in the following spring, moved to this point, where he continued to work for the American Fur Company until 1830, when he became the sole proprietor of the trading post whicli formed the nucleus of the present city of St. Joseph.

For many years the solitary log house of Joseph "Robidoux was the only evidence of civilized man within a radius of 50 miles. Robidoux's first house stood near the mouth of Blacksnake Creek. His second, and more pretentious one, occupied a spot near what is now known as the northeast corner of Main and Jules streets. It faced the south, was one and one-half stories high, contained nine rooms, six on the first floor and three on the second, and a covered porch extended along the entire front. Besides, there was a shed on the north side, divided into three rooms, in one of which Robidoux slept. The entire structure was of logs, chinked with mud, and was substantially and correctly built, insuring comfort in all seasons; and being sufficiently formidable to withstand an attack of hostile Indians, should one be made. Robidoux had several other houses in that neighborhood, one of which is now preserved at Krug Park.

Robidoux had in his employ about 20 Frenchmen, who made regular trips with mules to the Grand River country and across the Missouri River into what is now Kansas and Southern Nebraska, taking with them beads, mirrors, brilliant cloth and other flummery dear to the heart of the savage, and bringing home peltries and buffalo hides. These were stored and packed, and were shipped to St. Louis in keel-boats before the days of the steamlx)at.

In time travelers came and beheld the beauties of this region, and, as the tidings went abroad, others came to see and to locate. In 1834 several families from Franklin County, consisting of Thomas and Henry Sollars, Elisha Gladden, Mrs. Jane Purget and others, settled near the post.

For the convenience of those in his employ and the Indians, Robidoux operated a small ferry, consisting of a flatboat. The landing nt this side was about where Francis street originally struck the river, and the road led from there southeast to the xVgency Ford of the Platte River, where it forked, one branch leading to Liberty, Clay County, and the other to the Grand River country.

There were few, if any, additions to the population of Blacksnake Hills, as Robidoux's post was called, until the completion of the Platte Purchase in 1837. When the country was opened for settlement, there was a rush of immigration, and the leading post was naturally the objective point. Robidoux secured two quarter sections embracing what is now designated on the map as "Original Town'' and the various Robidoux additions.

Rival trading points sprang up all over the new country between' 1837 and 1840. Of Savannah, Amazonia, Bontown, Elizabethtown, Boston and Jimtown, all in Andrew County, the two former alone remain. However, Blacksnake Hills continued to prosper and the population steadily increased.

In the fall of 1839 Robidoux agreed to sell the site of Blacksnake Hills to Warren Samuel and two other parties from Independence, Missouri, for $1,600 in silver. They went home and returned in due time with the money, and also with a plat of the future town. They were Robidoux's guests. During the evening a dispute arose over a game of cards which caused Robidoux to decline further negotiations. He had doubtless regretted his part of the bargain and gladly availed himself of this opportunity to cancel the deal at the critical time.

Howe\-er, Robidoux gave or leased ground in small parcels to all who desired to locate, and so there developed quite a settlement. Robidoux engaged in general merchandise and built a flouring mill near the mouth of Blacksnake Creek. Dr. Daniel Keedy, who was the first physician, built a sawmill south of the settlement.

Among those who came prior to 1840 were Frederick W. Smith, a surveyor, w-hose name is prominently identified with the subsequent history of the city ; Dr. Daniel Keedy, Joseph Gladden, Polly Deliard, Samuel Hull, John Freeman, John Patchen, James B. O'Toole. William C. T(x)le. Edwin Toole, and others. Of these, Judge William C. Toole still lives in the city. The others are dead.

Among those who came [)rior to 1843 were \Mlliam P. Richardson, Simeon Kemper, Dr. D. Benton, John Corby, Joseph C. Hull, Elias Perry, Charles and A. Al. Saxton, Rev. T. S. Reeves, Isidore Poulin, James W. Whitehead, Lawrence Archer, Benjamin C. Powell, John D. Richardson, Jonathan Levy, Isaac and John Curd, \\'illiam H. Edgar, Robert G. Boyd, Thomas Mills. Joseph Davis, Joseph Fisher, Michael Miller, J. G. Kearns, James Highly. Christopher Carbry, Robert W. Donnell and David J. Heaton.

Josiah Beattie kept a ta\ern, where also the Gospel was preached by Rev. Mr. Reeves. Louis Picard is mentioned as the first carpenter, William Langston as the first plasterer, two brothers named Belcher as the first brickmakers, and Jacob Mitchell as the first blacksmith, though Robidoux had a l)lacksmith regularly em])loyed for many years previous to this time.

Though the population was small. Blacksnake Hills was the best trading point in this section, and farmers came long distances to the mills and stores. Sparta was the county seat, Init the people were ne\er attracted there, always preferring this point. When the Count)' Court appropriated $6,000 for the second Court House, in November of 1842. the entcr])rising peo])le of Blacksnake Hills at once began to

Robidoux was alive to the importance of this matter and began preparations to form a town. The population was about 200 at that time, and the business was along the river bank, near the mouth of the Blacksnake. The larger portion of the proposed townsite was then used as a hemp field. As soon as the crop was harvested, Robidoux had sur^'eys and plats made by two rival surveyors, Frederick W. Smith and Simeon Kemper. Smith named his plat "St. Joseph" and Kemper named his "Robidoux." Smith's plat was selected, taken to St. Louis and recorded on July 26, 1843. The history of St. Joseph therefore begins with July 26, 1843.

The town as then platted included all of the territory between Robidoux street on the north, Messanie on the south. Sixth street on the east and the river on the west - 52 whole and 12 fractional blocks, the dimensions of each whole 1)lock being 240 by 300 feet, bisected by a 12-foot alley. Robidoux named the streets, running back from the river : Water, Levee, P^irst (Main), Second, Third P^ourth, Fifth and Sixth. Those running at right angles he jiamed after members of his family, beginning" with Robidoux, then F^araon, Jules, Francis.. Felix, Edmond, Charles, Sylvanie, Angelique and Messanie.

The town lots were immcdiatly put upon the market, though Robidoux's title was not perfected until 1847. ^^t that time the land officewas located at Plattsburg. The first conveyance of lots was made on July 25. 1843, tbe day before the plat was recorded, and was a deed of trust to secure to the Chouteaus the payment of a loan of !$6,7,y2.^'/. with interest at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum. The education of Mrs. Robidoux seems to liave been neglected.. for the deed of trust was signed :

The population now increased rapidly, and at the end of the year 1843 there were 500 people here, as compared with 200 in the June previous. In the fall there occurred a public sale of town lots, which had been extensively advertised and had attracted a large number of men from the surrounding country. One hundred and fifty lots were sold at auction, and more would ha^-e been purchased, but Robidoux wisely closed the sale. The corner lots brought $150 and inside lots $100 each at this sale.

It was not until 1845, however, that the town of St. Joseph had a municipal government, as will be shown by the following, which is a copy of the first entry made in the original minute book of the board of trustees :

St. Joseph. Mo., May 8, 1845. At a meeting of the trustees of the town of St. Joseph, who were elected on Monday, May 5th, 1845, there were present Joseph Robidoux, Isidore Barada, John F. Carter, Johnson Copeland, Wiley M. English, Sinclair Miller and Benjamin C. Powell. The meeting was organized by calling Joseph Robidoux to the chair and appointing Benjamin F. Loan clerk pro tern. The certificate of election of each of said trustees was submitted to the inspection and action of said meeting. After a careful examination of each of said certificates by said meeting, they were severally received and each of said trustees declared duly elected. Whereupon the said trustees were each sworn to the oath of office and their respective certificates filed with the clerk. The meeting then went into an election of a chairman of the Board, and upon the first ballot Joseph Robidoux receiving six votes, he was duly declared elected chairman of said Board. Said Board then went into an election of officers, which resulted in the election of Benjamin P. Loan for clerk and attorney; Howell

Thomas for constable and collector; Benjamin C. Powell, treasurer; Charles White, inspector and assessor; and Frederick W. Smith, surveyor. On motion of John F. Carter, Esq., the chair appointed Messrs. Carter, Barada and Powell a committee to draft and report at the next meeting of the Board of Trustees for adoption, such by-laws and regulations as they shall think proper. Ordered that the Board of Trustees adjourn to meet Thursday, the 15th of May, at 2 o'clock p. m.

Joseph Robidoux had a monopoly of the trade until 1843, when Charles and Elias Perry leased from him the small log house which stood on the west side of Blacksnake Creek, and opened a stock of general merchandise. In the fall of that year they built a two-story brick house on Main street, fronting east, where the Sommer-Richardson cracker factory now stands. The brothers Perry became prominent factors in the early commerce of this point. Both are dead.

In 1844 Hull & Carter and E. LivernnM-e & Company also built business houses on Main street, between Jules and Francis streets. Benjamin C. Powell and Jonathan Levy each built a business house on Levee street, and Archie ^IcDonald erected a small brick house on Edmond street, near Water street, in a portion of the original town which has long been in the river. Robidoux also was a builder, and provided several brick tenements.

Israel Landis came in 1844 and opened a saddle and harness shop, west of Blacksnake Creek, but soon moved over to Main street, where business was rapidly centering. William Carter and Aquilla Morrow are recorded as early smiths and plowmakers. Philip Werthwine was the village barber; Allendorff & Rhodes kept a meat market, and Horatio Glasgow was the shoemaker. All of these were in the same neighborhood, except Glasgow, who isolated himself and kept a shop on the west side of Blacksnake Creek, at the terminus of a bridge. There was also a ten-pirt alley, kept by John Kennedy, and liquor could be bought at several places. The first permanent organization of the Methodist Church was perfected in 1844 by Rev. Edward Robinson.

In 1845 the first three-story building, the Edgar House, was erected at the corner of Main and Francis streets. It is still in a good state of preservation. At ?.bout the same time Rev. T. S. Reeves, a Presbyterian clergyman, who was a pioneer Protestant minister, erected the first church edifice on a lot now occupied by the John S. Brittain wholesale house at Fourth and Jules streets. John Corby opened an office as money lender and general speculator at about the same time. Hull & Welding opened a wagon shop and Isidore Barada a bakery.

Jonathan Copeland built the first warehouse, near the river bank, between Jules and Water streets. Steamboats, other than those owned and run by the American Fur Company, generally passed about twice a month. The staple product in those days was hemp, and much of it was shipped to St. Louis.

How the foundations of some fortunes were laid in the early days may be seen from three transactions. In 1844 John Corby purchased the tract of land now known as Corby's Grove, of 80 acres, for the sum of $200. In the same year Albe M. Saxton purchased a section of land one and one-half miles east of the Patee House for i )4 cents per, acre. John Patee purchased the tract, 320 acres, which became Patee's Addition, for $3,200.

In April, 1845, the following were in business here : E. Livermore & Company, general merchandise ; Jules C. Robidoux, who had succeeded his father in business, general merchant ; Ross & Harper, general merchants ; Hull & Carter, drugs and sundries ; Middleton, Perry & Company, general merchants ; Israel Landis, saddler ; John Patee, drugs and medicines ; E. Kemp, gunsmith ; Henry McKee, wines and liquors. There were five physicians - Drs. D. G. Keedy, B. V. Teel, J. Lawrence Page, J. H. Crane and D. Benton. There were four lawyers - Theodore D. Wheaton, George Brubaker, Benjamin Hays and H. L. Routt.

It is interesting to note the prices for necessaries that prevailed in those primitive days, when everything not produced at home was shipped from St. Louis by boat. Coffee was 9 cents per pound ; flour $4.50 per barrel ; corn meal, 50 cents per bushel; glass, 8 by 10, the common size of window panes in those days, $3.75 per box; gunpowder, $6.50 to $7.50 per keg; molasses, 40 cents per gallon; bacon and hams, 7 cents per pound ; lard, 6^ cents per pound ; butter, 7 to 8 cents per ^-^ound ; cheese, 6 to 12 cents per pound; eggs, 6 cents per dozen ; salt, $2.25 per sack ; whiskey, 23 to 25 cents per gallon ; Louisiana sugar, 7 to 8 cents per pound; leaf tobacco, $1.75 per hundred pounds; manufactured tobacco, 10 to 16 cents per pound ; tea, 60 cents to $1 per pound.

The year 1845 saw the first newspaper issued in St. Joseph. William Ridenbaugh commenced the publication of the Weekly Gacctte, the first number of which appeared on April 25th. The paper was first edited by Lawrence Archer, a lawyer of ability, and the terms of subscription were $2 per annum if paid in advance, or $3 if paid at the end of the year.

The Fourth of July was celebrated by the St. Joseph Sunday-school in 1845. There was a procession to a grove near the city, where there was music, oratory and feasting.

During that year the county seat question was uppermost, the people of St. Joseph making every effort to secure the prize. After several elections, the last of which was held on February 28, 1846, St. Joseph finally triumphed, and the future of the city was assured.

Amusements in those clays were "home made." The St. Joseph Thespian Society, composed of local amateurs, presented theatricals, and there were occasional lectures and magic lantern shows. However, in May, 1846, the circus of Hawes & Mabie visited the village and was well patronized. St. Joseph is to this day partial to the circus.

Quite a number of Mormons had located in St. Joseph and vicinity in 1845, ^'^^^ that their presence w^as not desirable is evident from a notice, signed by Samuel C. Hall, which was served upon them, and in which they were advised to "seek some other home, as there is considerable excitement existing against them."

In the Gazette of July 17, 1846, are published several ordinances which are of interest. By Ordinance No. 37 the Board of Trustees ordains: "(i) That there shall be levied, in addition to the taxes imposed by the provisions of the second section of Ordinance No. 35, a tax of one-third of i per cent on the assessed value of all live stock, including horses, cattle, hogs and kine of every description, without distinction of age, which may be found within the corporate limits at the time of assessment and belonging to persons living in the corporate limits in the town of St. Joseph. (2) All manner of mules, horses and stock kept in the town of St. Joseph, though without the limits of the town at the time of assessment, for temporary purposes, are hereby declared subject to the above tax. (3) Every slave which is hired in the town of St. Joseph shall be liable to a tax of one-third of i per cent, on hh or her assessed value, to be collected of the owner."

By Ordinance No. 37 the Board of Trustees ordains: "(i) That all the space of ground lying on the east bank of the Missouri River in the town of St. Joseph, commencing at the north side of Jules street, where it strikes said river, and extending one hundred and fifty feet south, and back east to a line parallel with the front of Johnson Copeland's, is hereby declared a steamboat landing. (2) That hereafter no flat or wood boat, raft or water craft of any description (except steamboats) shall lie or be stationed within the limits above specified, nor shall any load or loads of freight of any kind be landed from any such craft upon the shore within said limits. A penalty of not less than $5 is provided."

The Gazette supports Willard P. Hall of Buchanan County as the regular nominee for Congress in 1846. James H. Birch of Plattsburg was an independent candidate, and of the two men the Gazette warns the Democrats to stand by the regular nominee. "To the Democrats of this district we have to say," quoth the editor, "that the nominee must be sustained ; the organization of the party must be maintained ; union and harmony must prevail, or we must inevitably at every election realize trouble and at very many suffer defeat. Shall it be so?" Though this sentiment appeared in the Gazette over half a century ago, it still does good service during campaigns.

In the same issue of the Gazette a number of candidates are announced. The election was held in August then. Dr. Daniel G. Keedy, James H. Ashbaugh, Capt. Henry McKee and A. D. McDonald are candidates for the Legislature. Capt. Henry H. Moss, Capt. Augustus Wylie and J. F. Hamilton are candidates for sheriff. William A. McDonald and Milton H. Wash are candidates for the office of clerk of the Circuit Court, and Capt. F. B. Kercheval is a candidate for the county clerkship. Benjamin F. Loan, Levi T. Carr, Joseph J. Wyatt. James B. Hull and V. Tullar are candidates for the office of justice of the peace of Washington township. Allen Mansfield. P. N. Smith and Samuel Martin offer themselves for constable, and William Ridenbaugh, the editor, closes the list with the modest statement that he has yielded to the solicitations of his friends and become a candidate for the office of coroner.

The advertisements of the following firms appear in the same issue of the Gazette: Israel Landis, saddles and harness ; Todd & Richardson, drugs; Holladay & Somerville, drugs; E. Livermore & Company, general; M. M. & G. T. Moss, general ; David S. Skaggs, saddles and harness; Thomas H. Larkin, forwarding and commission merchant; C. F. Emery, painter and paper hanger; Wylie M. English, saddler; L. Halloran, general; I. Barada, fancy groceries and liquors; William P. Flint, physician; Hull & Carter, drugs. J. W. Glasgow advertises for sale his tannery, which was located on Blacksnake Creek. Joseph Robidoux warns his debtors that if they do not pay up promptly, their accounts will be put into the hands of an officer for collection. Two weddings were announced in that issue. John Angel, who died recently, was married to Eugenia Robidoux by Rev. J. T. Higginbotham; and Mansfield Carter was married to Miss Mc- Clelland by Justice Hall. Among the news items it is stated that the "Clermont No. 2" passed up the river for the mouth of the Yellowstone, and that seven Mackinaw toats passed down, loaded with furs, etc., for the American Fur Company.

In December of 1846 a census of St. Joseph was taken, which showed a population of 936. Of these, 142 were males under 10 years of age; 81 males between 10 and 21 years; 257 males over 21 years; 124 females under 10 years; 85 females between 10 and 21 years; 175 females over 21 years; 2/' male slaves. 43 female slaves, and two free negroes.

Times were quite lively in St. Joseph in 1847. New mercantile houses had been established and all old firms had enlarged; the spirit of internal improvement came over the people, and they were looking forward to consideral)le industrial progress. The first Catholic Church was built in 1847 ^^^ Fifth and Felix streets.

The years 1848 and 1849 saw many hopes fulfilled, and it is recorded that from March to September of the latter year 143 buildings were erected. Among them was the first brewery, built by Joseph Kuechle. The Advcuiuiw a Whig newspaper, was started in 1848 by E. Livermore.