Historic St. Joseph Foundation

12/03/2024

Alicia Williams, better known as Lady Taphos on TikTok, will discuss the fascinating history of monument-making.

02/14/2024

There are so many fascinating stories in St. Joseph history – many of which are not well known. Between 1913 and 1918, Roscoe Conkling Jamison lived in St. Joseph. He lived with his mother Mary E. Bone Jamison and his siter Alma Lucritis Jamison. Roscoe supported his family by working as a porter for the St. Joseph Drug Co. However, there was much more to Jamison, than just that – he was making a reputation for himself as a poet and as a leading voice of the black community. His work was published in newspapers and journals such as The Crisis and the Kansas City Sun. The St. Joseph Gazette published his poem “The Man in Overalls,” as a Labor Day tribune in 1913. Unfortunately, Jamison contracted tuberculosis and in 1918 he went to Phoenix, Arizona for his health. In order to help pay his bills, a collection of his work, “Negro Soldiers and Other Poems,” was compiled and printed (the 2nd edition dated 1918 was published in St. Joseph by William F. Neil). Jamison died of tuberculosis in Phoenix and was brought back to St. Joseph to be buried at Ashland Cemetery.
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02/13/2024

02/06/2024

For African Americans in the first half of the 20th century, opportunities were slim. One of the really good jobs available was as a porter on the railroad. James Allen (June 12, 1885-May 12, 1948) used his job as a porter on the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad to make a good life for himself in St. Joseph. James was born in Richmond, MO and as a young man he came to St. Joseph with his brother John. The 1910 census tells us that he was renting a house at 1318 Buchanan Ave. and is married to Oakley Temple. They had four children. By 1930, they owned their own home at 2206 Sylvanie St. He died of cancer at St. Joseph’s Hospital and is buried at Ashland.
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01/17/2024

The Shakespeare Chateau Circa 1885, St. Joseph, Missouri.

On the evening of January 12, 1888 Elmerine and Nathan Ogden threw open the doors of their extraordinary home to several hundred of the social elite of St. Joseph. The privileged guests were treated to a lovely supper in the dining room that was described by the local newspaper covering the evening as, “a fit place to make the epicure feel that during his life he had merely heard of the good things of life, yet had been unable to partake of them.”

The Shakespeare Chateau, so-called because of the bust of William Shakespeare above the front foyer fireplace, boasts 47 original stained glass windows, elaborate fireplace mantles with the original tilework still in place, and carved cherry, mahogany, oak, and walnut woodwork throughout. The first floor music room has a stunning set of intact Zuber wallpaper (one of the other places you can find such a set is in the White House).

📸 Bob Travaglione
📖 Wikipedia

10/22/2023

We have such great historic cemeteries- it is important to take care of them the right way.

Join our Genealogy Librarian, Marina, to learn about one of St. Joseph’s historic cemeteries and its residents in this hands-on headstone cleaning workshop. Attendees will learn about headstone cleaning best practices and methods. Please wear appropriate work clothes, all other supplies will be provided. Register at: https://sjpl.librarymarket.com/event/headstone-cleaning-workshop-15086.

08/19/2023

Absolutely fascinating story.

Dr. Evan Hart is a professor at Missouri Western State University. She has done extensive research on Dr. Fenton Goodson, a St. Joseph doctor who provided abortions around the turn of the 20th century. His crimes, however, extend beyond this practice that was illegal at the time. Join us for this interesting discussion.

07/26/2023

Join local historian and preservationist Cole Woodbury as he takes you through St. Joseph's rich history with historic postcards. All ages welcome this Saturday at the Downtown Library at 11 a.m.