Joseph Robidoux - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Joseph Robidoux III established the Blacksnake Hills Trading Post that eventually became St. Joseph, Missouri.

Biography

Robidoux was one of seven sons of Joseph Robidoux II and Catherine Rollet, six of whom survived to adulthood. He spent most of his childhood in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, where his father introduced him and his brothers Francois, Isidore, Antoine, Louis, and Michael to the fur trade at an early age. (Weber, pp. 36) In 1799, at the age of 16, young Joseph was accompanying fur traders up the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

1803-1822

In 1803, Robidoux's father sent him to organize a trading post at Fort Dearborn, Illinois, site of present-day Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

. His early success there irritated other traders, who engaged Indians to harass Joseph and eventually drive him from the area.

In 1805, Robidoux's wife of four years, Eugenie Delisle, died. She and Joseph had had two children, a daughter, Messanie, who preceded her mother in death, and a son, Joseph E. Robidoux, later known to history - though not during his life - as "Indian Joe".

In 1809, Robidoux established a trading post

Cabanne's Trading Post

Cabanne's Trading Post was established in 1822 by the American Fur Company as Fort Robidoux near present-day Dodge Park in North Omaha, Nebraska. It was named for influential fur trapper Joseph Robidoux...

near the site of present-day North Omaha, Nebraska

North Omaha, Nebraska

North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the east, as defined by the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Omaha...

. In 1813, he married Angelique Vaudry, with whom he had six sons and a daughter (Faraon, Julius, Francis, Felix, Edmond, Charles and Sylvanie). Robidoux remained in the Council Bluffs area until 1822, when the American Fur Company bought him out and offered him $1,000 a year not to compete with them.

1823-1842

Robidoux returned to St. Louis, where he lived as a baker and confectioner. In 1826, he was hired by the American Fur Company to establish a trading post at the Blacksnake Hills (near the site of present day Saint Joseph, Missouri

Saint Joseph, Missouri

Saint Joseph is the second largest city in northwest Missouri, only second to Kansas City in size, serving as the county seat for Buchanan County. As of the 2010 census, Saint Joseph had a total population of 76,780, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The St...

.) He remained their employee for four years, at the salary of $1,800 a year, before becoming an independent trader. Built prior to 1830, Robidoux's home was located on the northwest corner of 2nd & Jules Streets in Saint Joseph, Missouri

Saint Joseph, Missouri

. The first building in Saint Joseph, it was later removed to Krug Park.

Robidoux prospered in the years between 1830 and 1843, employing as many as twenty Frenchmen to engage in trade with the Indians to the west of his post. His settlement was illegal at the time. When Missouri entered the union in 1821, the state's western boundary was based on the Kaw River mouth in the Kansas City West Bottoms

West Bottoms

The West Bottoms is an industrial area immediately to the west of downtown Kansas City, Missouri at the confluence of the Missouri River and the Kansas River. The area is one of the oldest areas of the city....

(approximately 94 degrees 36 minutes West longitude). The land where St. Joseph is now located belonged by treaty to the Ioway Tribe and the combined Sac Tribe

Sac (tribe)

The Sacs or Sauks are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture group. Their autonym is The Sacs or Sauks are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture group. Their autonym is The Sacs or Sauks are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture...

and Fox Tribe.

Robidoux was the most spectacular example of several enterprising white settlers who encroached on Indian land. Faced with the possibilities of more encroachment the tribes in 1836 agreed to sell what is now the northwest corner of Missouri for $7,500 to the federal government in a deal at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas that was presided over by William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame). The transaction called the Platte Purchase

Platte Purchase

The Platte Purchase was a land acquisition in 1836 by the United States government from Native American tribes all of which was east bank lands along the Missouri River that added to the northwest corner of the state of Missouri. The area acquired is almost as large as the states of Delaware and...

added an area almost the combined size of Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

and Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

to the State of Missouri.

1843-1868

In 1843, Robidoux hired two men, Frederick W. Smith and Simeon Kemper to design a town for him. Under Kemper's plan the town was to have been called Robidoux, a feature Kemper thought would appeal to Robidoux. However, Robidoux found Smith's plan more appealing as it would feature much narrower streets, thus leaving more land for Joseph to sell in the form of lots.

Plans for the town were filed with the clerk of Common Pleas in St. Louis on July 26, 1843. Shortly thereafter, Joseph began selling lots, with corner lots going for $150.00 and interior lots $100.00.

Saint Joseph prospered quickly in the years after its founding, growing from a population of 800 in 1846 to 8,932 in 1860. Joseph Robidoux remained a prominent citizen and led in many development issues until his death, at the age of 85, in 1868. In present day Saint Joseph, the main downtown streets were named for his children and his second wife, Angelique.

Biography

1803-1822

1823-1842

1843-1868

See also