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 St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

. It was one of the best-known hotels west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. The Patee House was built by John Patée as part of his Patee Town development around the

Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad The Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad was the first railroad to cross Missouri starting in Hannibal in the northeast and going to St. Joseph, Missouri, in the northwest. It is said to have carried the first letter to the Pony Express on April 3, ...

station. Office space included the headquarters and eastern terminus of the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pik ...

, founded in 1860 to provide fast overland

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

service to the West Coast. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

Provost Marshal Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French ''prévost'' (Modern French ''prévôt''). While a provost marshal i ...

's office was located in Patee House. The Army conducted war trials in the second floor

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

. After the war, the Patee Female College operated in the building from 1865 to 1868. Its space was taken over 1875–1880 by the St. Joseph Female College, founded in affiliation with the

Baptist Church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

. These private schools were part of the postwar expansion of educational facilities for young women across the country. After 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 killed in 1882 at his nearby home, his surviving family stayed at the hotel during the investigation of his death. It was then called World's Hotel. Also resident at the hotel within two weeks of James's death was

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

who lectured in St. Joseph on April 18, 1882. Later the building was adapted to house the R.L. McDonald shirt factory and other light industrial uses for 80 years. Since 1963, the building has been operated as a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

of United States history, with an emphasis on transportation. An 1892

steam

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

and 1877

railroad depot A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one r ...

are displayed inside the building. In 2008 the museum was selected as one of America's Top Ten Western Museums by ''

True West Magazine ''True West Magazine'' (alternate title: ''True West'') is an American magazine that covers the icons like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid, and Jesse James and relates American Old West history back to the present day to show the role conte ...

''. It was also listed in ''

1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before You Die ''1,000 Places to See in the US and Canada Before You Die'' ({{ISBN, 0761147381, 2007) is a book written by Patricia Schultz as a follow up book to ''1,000 Places to See Before You Die''. The listing below is divided into sections like the book ...

''. The building was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

for its role as the

headquarters. It marks the eastern terminus of the Pony Express

National Historic Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

. The Jesse James Home Museum is located on Patee House grounds. Both are owned and operated by the Pony Express Historical Association, a not-for-profit organization. Both are contributing resources to the Patee Town Historic District. an
Accompanying map
/ref> Patee museum 001

References

External links

Patee House MuseumNational Historic Landmarks Program: Patee House
{{authority control National Historic Landmarks in Missouri Hotel buildings completed in 1858 Hotels in Missouri Automobile museums in Missouri Railroad museums in Missouri Transportation museums in Missouri History of the American West Buildings and structures in St. Joseph, Missouri History museums in Missouri Museums in St. Joseph, Missouri Pony Express Hotels established in 1858 Railway hotels in the United States American West museums 1858 establishments in Missouri Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Missouri Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Buchanan County, Missouri History of women in Missouri

See also

References

External links