Joseph Robidoux and the fur trade founded St. Joseph

St. Joseph traces its origins to a Missouri River fur-trading post run by Joseph Robidoux, a trader of French heritage. The trading post grew into a town that took the name St. Joseph, and the river location that made it useful for the fur trade later made it a launching point for westward travel. This French fur-trade beginning is a thread St. Joseph shares with other Missouri River towns, and it predates the city’s better-known Pony Express and outlaw chapters. For someone learning the area, Robidoux explains both the city’s name and why it sits where it does on the river. The State Historical Society of Missouri and local museums are the reliable sources for the founding timeline and Robidoux’s role.