The Wyeth-Tootle Mansion, a site of the St. Joseph Museums, Inc., houses a series of exhibits on the life and death of Jesse James and the events that influenced him. During the Civil War, Missouri was a divided state, with both Northern and Southern sympathizers. The James family was among the many Southern sympathizers living in Missouri. Frank James joined Quantrill’s guerrillas early in the war, while Jesse joined in 1864.
In an exhibit room designed to look like the white clapboard exterior of the house where Jesse lived in St. Joseph are various personal items that belonged to Jesse James. Included in the display are a glass butter dish and Jesse’s bedroom furniture, as well as floorboards from the home showing how souvenir hunters chipped pieces away. Additional displays in the room feature photographs of Jesse James during the guerrilla years, his family, and his life and death in St. Joseph. Among other artifacts is the guest registration book from the house where Jesse was killed. The book is opened to the page dated April 3, 1883, proving that the house became a tourist attraction almost immediately after Jesse James 1882 death.
While touring the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion, visitors will see exhibits on the history of St. Joseph, the natural history of Missouri and view the partially restored rooms in this 1879 Gothic mansion.
