The Jesse James Home Museum is the house in

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

where outlaw

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained stro ...

was living and was gunned down on April 3, 1882, by Robert Ford. It is a one-story,

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style frame dwelling measuring 24 feet, 2 inches, wide and 30 feet, 4 inches, deep. At the time, the house was located at 1318 Lafayette Street in St. Joseph. In 1939, it was moved to a busier Belt Highway location. In 1977, it was moved to a location directly behind

Patee House The Patee House, also known as Patee House Museum, was completed in 1858 as a 140-room luxury hotel at 12th Street and Penn in St. Joseph, Missouri. It was one of the best-known hotels west of the Mississippi River. The Patee House was built by J ...

at 12th and Mitchell in St. Joseph, only two blocks away from its original location, which restored more of its historic context. The investigation into the shooting death of James was conducted at Patee House Hotel (formerly the World's Hotel). Mrs. James, her two children, and Jesse's mother stayed in Patee House for two nights after Jesse James was killed. The house has a large bullet hole on the north interior wall. The hole was actually much smaller but over the years, souvenir hunters carved shavings from the hole and enlarged it. The Jesse James Home contains a number of items owned by Jesse James and his family. In 1995, top forensic scientist Professor James E. Starrs, of

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, conducted an exhumation of the grave of Jesse James to settle persistent controversy about the remains. In February 1996, he announced that DNA tests performed on the remains and compared to the DNA of existing known relatives proved a 99.7% reliability that the body in the grave was that of Jesse James. The museum includes new exhibits based on the 1995 exhumation, including artifacts such as coffin handles, bits of wood, and a pin Jesse James wore in his death photo, as well as numerous photos taken during the exhumation. The home was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on September 4, 1980. It is a contributing resource to the Patee Town Historic District.

References

External links

Jesse James Home Museum

St. Joseph, Missouri Visitors Bureau

{{National Register of Historic Places in Missouri American folklore James–Younger Gang Murder in Missouri Biographical museums in Missouri Historic house museums in Missouri Museums in St. Joseph, Missouri Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Missouri Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Greek Revival houses in Missouri Houses in St. Joseph, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Buchanan County, Missouri