Reclaiming Jesse James

The world’s most famous outlaw, Jesse James, has been dead for 122 years, but to many residents of Kearney, Mo., he’s still a wanted man.

“Jesse has been good for the town. He’s pretty much our claim to fame,” says Vivie Tison, a member of Friends of the James Farm. The group supports the Jesse James Farm and Museum in this town of 5,472, where the American folk legend was born in 1847 and subsequently buried—three times. Most recently, his body was exhumed in 1995 for DNA testing, which concluded that it was Jesse.

Every June, descendants and friends of the James family reunite. Later in the year, the town of Kearney has its own James celebration with the Jesse James Festival, scheduled Sept. 18-19 this year.

“There’s always a contingency that thinks we’re glorifying an outlaw,” says Tom Sloan, president of the festival. “I tell them that we’re helping Jesse pay back his debt to society.”

Year-round, more than 20,000 people visit the James farmhouse on Highway 92, four miles east of Kearney, and the family graves at Mount Olivet Cemetery.

The town had to warm up, though, to showcasing its famous outlaw, says Darrell McClung, a town barber. In 1970, McClung was among 20 downtown merchants who organized a sidewalk sale, hired a country singer and promoted the event as Wild West Days. “We met with marginal success and wondered how we could improve,” he says. “A lady who had just opened up a restaurant and gas station stood up and said, ‘There’s only one thing that Kearney is known for. There’s no use pussyfooting around. It’s Jesse James.’”

After a collective gasp, says McClung, the group decided that Frank James’ reputation was better than his younger brother’s, so they settled on the Frank and Jesse James Festival. “For brevity’s sake, after a few years, Frank got dropped,” McClung says. A rodeo, historical re-enactments, a barbecue cookoff and a carnival draw thousands annually.

Townspeople don’t condone criminals, says Tison, but many sympathize with the Confederate raiders-turned outlaws. “Jesse was a product of his times,” she says. “He became how he was because of the Civil War.”

When Jesse was 16, Union soldiers reportedly surrounded him while he was plowing the fields and demanded information about Frank, who had joined William Quantrill’s guerrillas. They beat Jesse and hanged his step-father, Dr. Reuben Samuel.

After the Civil War, the James brothers lived a life of outlawry—robbing banks, trains and stagecoaches. Sons of a Baptist minister who helped found William Jewell College in nearby Liberty, the brothers were educated and frequently quoted Shakespeare. Whether true or not, the legend grew that Jesse was a Robin Hood character—robbing rich Yankees to give to the poor.

In 1978, Clay County bought the farm from Jesse’s grandsons for $100,000. They restored the 1822 log cabin, which contains the James’ family furniture. The cabin was damaged when detectives, who were hunting Jesse, firebombed it in 1875, killing Jesse’s half-brother and injuring his mother.

Jesse’s life ended with a bullet to the back of the head from Bob Ford, who planned to reap a $10,000 reward. Bob and his brother, Charlie Ford, were charged with murder but later were pardoned.

Kearney is popular for more than its legendary outlaws, though. “People move here to be a part of what’s here, not to change what’s here,” McClung says. “The town is friendly and its schools are second to none.”

And move here they do. From 1990 to 2000, Kearney’s population more than doubled—from 2,260 to 5,472, notes Kaleb Kentner, former community development director. “We’re not the urban sprawling town that you’d think of in a metro area,” Kentner says. “You come out of Kansas City and there’s a five-mile stretch where you feel like you’re coming to a small town. We’re trying to keep that balance.”

In fact, downtown buildings are all occupied and a new high school and elementary school have been built since 1999.

“We’re really lucky to have Jesse James,” Kentner says. “Most towns would give anything to have an identity.”

Marti Attoun is a freelance writer in Joplin, Mo.

Upload Your Own Stories, Photos and Videos

Every week, American Profile magazine brings you stories that celebrate the people and places that make America great. Now we want to hear your stories and see your photos, videos and even audio.

 Start Uploading Now!

 

Discuss this Article