"Early Autumn View; Wyeth Hill"

"Early Autumn View; Wyeth Hill"

24x36 oil on canvas

2012

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Houston Wyeth Hill is a westward facing scenic overlook high upon the Missouri River bluffs of St. Joseph, MO.  It offers a panoramic view of the Missouri River and Kansas.  St. Joe was one of the major gateways along the Missouri River to western expansion.  Thousands of pioneers crossed the river at this point (within view of Wyeth Hill) on their way to Oregon and California.  This feeder route to the Oregon Trail was known as the "St. Joseph Branch" (c. 1844 - 1870). 

This painting depicts a September view looking down the Missouri River toward downtown St. Joseph.  Down below is St. Joseph's Riverwalk, leading you to downtown Riverfront Park.  Across the river (west) from Wyeth Hill is a flood plain once called French Bottoms where early French settlers once settled in the 1830's until the 1850's.  The area is now where the Rosencrans Memorial Airport is located.  There is much history in this area, locally and nationally.  And the scenery is amazing all year round.