Following in the footsteps of Jesse James

KEARNEY, Mo. -- Hollywood offers a new spin on the legend of Jesse James when "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," starring Brad Pitt as James, opening this month.

If the movie sparks your interest in the famous outlaw, there are plenty of places in Missouri where you can learn more about his life, his gang and the era in which they lived.

In the countryside just outside Kearney, you can visit the James family home, where his mother, Zerelda, began giving tours not long after he was assassinated in 1882. Today it's known as the Jesse James Farm and Museum.

Ten miles away, in Liberty, you can visit the Jesse James Bank Museum, where a bank robbery was carried out by James' gang in 1866. The museum is designed to look like the bank looked the day of the crime.

In Stanton, you can take a guided tour of the Meramec Caves, reputed to be a hideout for James. And in St. Joseph, you'll find the house where James was killed, and the courthouse where two men were tried for his murder.

After James was assassinated, his elder brother Frank James spent six months in the 1859 Jail in Independence, where admiring locals brought him gifts, a carpet and fine furniture. You can still see his furnished cell there today, complete with a picture of Shakespeare, his favorite author, hanging over his bed. Frank was never convicted of any crime, and his ashes were buried in the Hill Park Cemetery in Independence, where you can find his headstone.

A covered wagon historical tour with stories about the James gang is also offered through December around Independence by Pioneer Trails Adventures.

For details on visiting any of these sites, go to www.visitmo.com and type "Jesse James" in the search box.