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 eight children: Faraon, Jules, Francois (Francis), Felix, Edmond, Charles, Sylvanie, and Messanie.

St. Joseph, or "St. Joe", as it was called by many, was a "Jumping-Off Point" for those migrants headed to the Oregon Territory in the mid-1800s.

Such cities, including Independence, and St. Joseph, were where pioneers would stay and purchase supplies before they headed out in wagon trains across the Great Plains.

Between April 3, 1860, and late October 1861, St. Joseph was one of the two endpoints of the Pony Express, which operated for a short period over the land then inaccessible by rail, to provide fast mail service.

St. Joseph is identified by the slogan, "Where the Pony Express started and Jesse James ended."

In the post-Civil War years, when the economy was down, the hotel was used for a time by the Patee Female College.

In 1968 occupational therapist George Glore [9] with the help of his patients, recreated several historic treatment devices for Mental Health Awareness Month.

You can visit the Glore Psychiatric Museum, housed in the former Surgical and Outpatient Center of the hospital, 7-days a week from 10AM-5PM.

St. Joseph was the second city in the US to install electric streetcars; regular service was initiated on July 4, 1888.

[11] Among properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places are Robidoux Row, buildings owned by the founder and used for his family trading and mercantile business; the Patee House, now serving as a museum displaying St. Joseph's history, and the Missouri Theatre, an ornate movie palace.

Prior to 1954 and desegregation, Bartlett High School served St. Joseph's African American students.

[14] St. Joseph's African American community leaders and Nathaniel C. Bruce were involved in and supported the establishment of Bartlett Agricultural and Industrial School in Dalton, Missouri.

Saint Joseph is located on the Missouri/Kansas border in northwestern Missouri, also close to Nebraska; Iowa is another 70 miles (110 km) farther north.

Saint Joseph has a vibrant and diversified industrial economy making it the third largest exporter in Missouri.

At the center of the so called 'Kansas City Animal Health Corridor', which extends from Manhattan, Kansas, to Columbia, Missouri, Staint Joseph is home to major animal health, pharmaceutical, nutrition research facilities.

TransitAmerica Services, a subsidiary of Herzog, provides conductors and other railway technical positions for transit rail systems nationwide.

Herzog Contracting, parent company to Transit America, is based in the city and provides construction services, rail equipment, rail testing, and signaling services to freight and transit systems throughout North America and the Caribbean.

[35] St. 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.

In 2014, the mall gained unexpected attention for a back-to-school ad that went viral on the Internet due to its poor quality.

St. Joseph's trade area encompasses parts of northeast Kansas, northwest Missouri, southeast Nebraska, and southwest Iowa.

Two new elementary schools (Oak Grove and Carden Park) have been constructed, and both opened by the 2014–15 academic year.

In addition, there is an active home education community that serves the city and surrounding areas.

[38][39] The system is overseen by the Library Board which consists of nine members appointed by the mayor, with city council approval, for three-year terms.

[42][43] East Hills Library is the largest branch, located off Interstate 29, which serves the greater St. Joseph area.

The space is used for the library itself, its administration offices, a used book store, and "The Upper Story", a large rentable meeting room.

It is the home of the 139th Airlift Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard, and does not have commercial service.

They have interests in numerous television, radio, and newspaper markets throughout the midwestern and western United States.

This in turn was followed by the conversions of KBJO-LD to NBC affiliate KNPG-LD in November 2016 (retaining the CW+ as a LD2 subchannel),[51] and the original KNPG-LD (which assumed the KBJO-LD call letters) to CBS affiliate KCJO-LD in June 2017,[52] ending out-of-market reliance for major network programming.