Jesse James Home

People who come here to the Jesse James Home in St. Joseph, Missouri, seem to have more of an interest in the death, rather than the life, of the outlaw. This is where Jesse was killed in 1882 by Bob Ford, a one-time friend and member of the James gang. Seeking to collect a $10,000 reward, Ford killed his partner in crime with a shot to the back of the head as Jesse was standing on a chair to straighten a picture. At the time, Jesse had been hiding from the law and living with his wife and children under the assumed name of Tom Howard. Death-related memorabilia includes a cast of Jesse’s skull on a pedestal, with the trajectory of the fatal bullet marked in bright orange. Also on display are handles and broken glass from his coffin, a tie pin he was sporting when he died, a bullet from an old injury found in his right lung, and postmortem photos.