St Joseph

City in northwest Missouri, USA, on the Missouri River, 80 km/50 mi northwest of Kansas City; population (1996 est) 70,200. It has large stockyards, and is a major grain market. Industries include meat-preparation and packing, flour production, food- and dairy-processing, and the manufacture of metalware, concrete, and steel. First established as a trading post in 1826, it served as a river port, and became the eastern terminus for the Pony Express (horse-relay system of mail delivery) in the mid-19th century.

The outlaw Jesse James was killed in St Joseph in 1882. The city was also the home of the 19th-century poet and journalist Eugene Fields.

St Joseph

City and administrative headquarters of Berrien County, southwest Michigan, on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the St Joseph River, opposite Benton Harbor; population (1990) 9,200. Economic activities include commercial fishing and fruit processing; car parts, rubber, machinery, castings, clothing, and paper are also manufactured. The city's beaches and mineral springs have attracted a lively tourist trade.

History On this site the French explorer La Salle built Fort Miami (1679), from which he explored the region. The first permanent settlement, dating to about 1830, was a fur trading post. Growth occurred with the building of improved harbour facilities and the opening of the Territorial Road from Detroit.