Museum & historic farm Kearney, Missouri
Jesse James Birthplace
The farm where Jesse James was born in 1847 and where the James story keeps its roots. Walk the paved trail along the creek to the farmhouse, see the museum's collection, and stand at the site of Jesse's original grave in the yard his mother tended.
Visitor information
21216 James Farm Road, Kearney, MO 64060
Hours & admission: see the official hours page (external site).
Paved trail to the farmhouse · accessible parking & restrooms · call ahead for mobility assistance.
The museum and the farmhouse
A visit begins in the museum with a 20-minute film that sets the James family in the Missouri of the 1860s — border war, occupation, and the raid on the farm itself. From there, a winding paved trail follows the creek where Frank and Jesse played as boys, ending at the farmhouse kept much as Zerelda James Samuel kept it.
The collection is the largest assembly of James family artifacts anywhere. It's a museum, not a show: the story is told straight, with the family's own things and the house they lived in. In the yard is Jesse's original burial site — where his mother and brother once sold souvenir pebbles from the grave for a quarter.
From the collection
The farm through time
The farmhouse is built — among the oldest standing structures in Clay County.
Jesse Woodson James is born on the farm, the son of a Baptist minister and the formidable Zerelda.
Union militia raid the farm during the border war — an event that pushes the brothers toward the guerrilla bands.
Jesse is killed in St. Joseph and buried in the farmyard, where his mother could watch over the grave.
Clay County preserves the farm, museum, and collection — open to visitors. Check the official site for seasonal hours.
On the grounds