Ste. Genevieve (french: Sainte-Geneviève ) is a city in
Ste. Genevieve Township and is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Ste. Genevieve County,
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, United States.
The population was 4,999 at the
2020 census. Founded in 1735 by
French Canadian colonists and settlers from east of the river, it was the first organized European settlement west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
in present-day Missouri. Today, it is home to
Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park, the 422nd unit of the National Park Service.
History
Founded around 1740 by
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
settlers and migrants from settlements in the Illinois Country just east of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
, Ste. Geneviève is the oldest permanent European settlement in Missouri. It was named for
Saint Genevieve (who lived in the 5th century AD), the patron saint of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, the capital of France. While most residents were of French-Canadian descent, many of the founding families had been in the Illinois Country for two or three generations. It is one of the oldest colonial settlements west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
.
This area was known as
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
,
Illinois Country
The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Illinois ; , i.e. the Illinois people)—sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana)—was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is n ...
, or the
Upper Louisiana
Upper may refer to:
* Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot
* Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both
* ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
territory. Traditional accounts suggested a founding of 1735 or so, but historian Carl Ekberg has documented a more likely founding about 1750. The population to the east of the river needed more land, as the soils in the older villages had become exhausted. Improved relations with hostile
Native Americans, such as the
Osage, made settlement possible.
Prior to arrival of French Canadian settlers,
indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
of succeeding cultures had lived in the region for more than one thousand years. The best known prior to the historic tribes were the
Mississippian culture, which developed complex earthworks at such sites as
Cahokia
The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south- ...
, and had a broad cross-continental trading network along the Mississippi-Ohio river waterways, from the south to near the Great Lakes.
At the time of European settlement, however, no Indian tribe lived nearby on the west bank.
Jacques-Nicolas Bellin
Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703 – 21 March 1772) was a French hydrographer, geographer, and member of the French intellectual group called the philosophes.
Bellin was born in Paris. He was hydrographer of France's hydrographic office, member of t ...
's map of 1755, the first to show Ste. Genevieve in the Illinois Country, showed
Kaskaskia
The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...
natives on the east side of the river, but no Indian village on the west side within 100 miles of Ste. Genevieve. Osage hunting and war parties did enter the area from the north and west. The region had been relatively abandoned by 1500, likely due to environmental exhaustion, after the peak of
Mississippian culture civilization at
Cahokia
The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south- ...
, the largest city of this culture.
At the time of its founding by ethnic French, Ste. Genevieve was the last of a triad of French Canadian settlements in this area of the mid-Mississippi Valley. About five miles northeast of Ste. Genevieve on the east side of the river was
Fort de Chartres
Fort de Chartres was a French fortification first built in 1720 on the east bank of the Mississippi River in present-day Illinois. It was used as the administrative center for the province, which was part of New France. Due generally to river floo ...
(in the Illinois Country); it stood as the official capital of the area.
Kaskaskia
The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...
, which became Illinois’s first capital upon statehood, was located about five miles southeast.
Prairie du Rocher and
Cahokia, Illinois (an independent settlement not attached to the ancient Mississippian site) were other early local French colonial settlements on the east side of the river.
Following defeat by the British in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
, in 1762 under the
Treaty of Fontainebleau, France secretly ceded the area of the west bank of the Mississippi River to
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, which formed
Louisiana (New Spain)
Spanish Louisiana ( es, link=no, la Luisiana) was a governorate and administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1762 to 1801 that consisted of a vast territory in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of t ...
. The Spanish moved the capital of
Upper Louisiana
Upper may refer to:
* Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot
* Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both
* ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
from Fort de Chartres fifty miles upriver to
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. They ruled with a light hand and often through mostly French-speaking officials. Although under Spanish control for more than 40 years, Ste. Genevieve retained its French language, customs and character. Like other European colonists, the French held enslaved African Americans as workers. Most slaveholders had a few such workers, as they had relatively small farms. Some slaves were used as workers in lead mining.
In 1763, the French ceded the land east of the Mississippi to
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
in the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
that ended Europe's Seven Years' War, also known on the North American front as the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
. French-speaking people from Canada and settlers east of the Mississippi went west to live beyond British rule; they also flocked to Ste. Genevieve after
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
issued the
Royal Proclamation of 1763
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III on 7 October 1763. It followed the Treaty of Paris (1763), which formally ended the Seven Years' War and transferred French territory in North America to Great Britain. The Procla ...
. This transformed all of the captured French land between the Mississippi and the Appalachian Mountains, except
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, into an
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty,
that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band."
In ...
. The king required settlers to leave or get British permission to stay. These requirements were regularly violated by European-American settlers, who resented efforts to restrict their expansion west of the Appalachians.
During the 1770s, bands of
Little Osage and
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
tribes repeatedly raided Ste. Genevieve to steal settlers' horses. But the
fur trade, marriage of French-Canadian men with Native American women, and other commercial dealings created many ties between Native Americans and the
Canadiens
French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
. During the 1780s, some
Shawnee
The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
and
Lenape (Delaware) migrated to the west side of the Mississippi following rebel American victory in its
Revolutionary War. The tribes established villages south of Ste. Genevieve. The
Peoria also moved near Ste. Genevieve in the 1780s but had a peaceful relationship with the village. It was not until the 1790s that the
Big Osage pressed the settlement harder; they conducted repeated raids and killed some settlers. In addition, they attacked the Peoria and Shawnee.
[Ekberg (1985), ''Colonial Ste. Genevieve'', pp. 87-104]
While at one point Spanish administrators wanted to attack the Big Osage, there were not sufficient French settlers to recruit for a militia to do so. The Big Osage had 1250 men in their village, and lived in the prairie. In 1794
Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondelet
Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondelet y Bosoist, 5th Baron of Carondelet, (born 1748, Noyelles-sur-Selle, Flanders – died 1807 Quito, Ecuador) was a Spanish administrator of partial Burgundian descent in the employ of the Spanish Empire. He ...
, the Spanish governor at New Orleans, appointed brothers
Pierre Chouteau and
Auguste Chouteau of
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
to have exclusive trading privileges with the Big Osage. They built a fort and trading post on the
Osage River
The Osage River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 tributary of the Missouri River in central Missouri in the United States. The eighth-largest river ...
in Big Osage territory. While the natives did not entirely cease their raids on Ste. Genevieve, commercial diplomacy and rewards of the fur trade eased some relations.
Le Vieux Village (Old Ste. Genevieve c. 1750)
Following the great flood of 1785, the town moved from its initial location on the
floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
, to its present location two miles north and about a half mile inland. It continued to prosper as a village devoted to agriculture, especially wheat, maize and tobacco production. Most of the families were
yeomen farmers, although there was a wealthier level among the residents. The village raised sufficient grain to send many tons of flour annually for sale to Lower Louisiana and New Orleans. This was essential to the survival of the southern colonies, which could not grow sufficient grain in their climate. In 1807,
Frederick Bates, the secretary of the
Louisiana Territory
The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. The territory was formed out of the ...
after the United States made the Louisiana Purchase, noted Ste. Genevieve was "the most wealthy village in Louisiana" (meaning the full Territory).
Architecture
The oldest surviving buildings of Ste. Genevieve, described as "French Creole colonial", were all built during the period of Spanish rule in the late 18th century. The most distinctive buildings of this period were the "vertical wooden post" constructions. Walls of buildings were built based on wood "posts" either dug into the ground (''
poteaux en terre
A post in ground construction, also called earthfast or hole-set posts, is a type of construction in which vertical, roof-bearing timbers, called posts, are in direct contact with the ground. They may be placed into excavated postholes, driven ...
'') or set on a raised stone or brick foundation (''
poteaux sur solle''). This was different from the
log cabin style associated with the Anglo-American frontier settlements of the United States northeast, mid-Atlantic and Upper South, for which logs are stacked horizontally.
The most distinctive of the vertical post houses are ''
poteaux en terre
A post in ground construction, also called earthfast or hole-set posts, is a type of construction in which vertical, roof-bearing timbers, called posts, are in direct contact with the ground. They may be placed into excavated postholes, driven ...
'' ("posts-in-the-ground"), where the walls made of upright wooden posts do not support the floor. The floor is supported by separate stone pillars. As the wooden posts were partially set into dirt, the walls of such buildings were extremely vulnerable to flood damage,
termites and rot. Three of the five surviving ''poteaux en terre'' houses in the nation are in Ste. Genevieve. The other two are located in
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport– Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 2 ...
and near
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches ( ; french: link=no, Les Natchitoches) is a small city and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was name ...
.
Most of the oldest buildings in the city are ''
poteaux sur solle'' ("posts-on-a-sill"). One of the oldest structures is the
Louis Bolduc House built in 1792, which has been designated as a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
. Louis Bolduc originally built a smaller house in 1770 at Ste. Genevieve's first riverfront location. Although much of the house was severely damaged by flooding, parts were dismantled and moved north as the community developed the new site in 1785. Bolduc incorporated these materials into his new and larger house, built in 1792–1793. The three large ground-floor rooms expressed Bolduc's wealth. Other structures of note are the 1806
La Maison de Guibourd Historic House, the 1818
Felix Vallé House State Historic Site, the 1792 Beauvais-Amoureux House, the 1790s Bequette-Ribault House, and the 1808 Old Louisiana Academy, all of which are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.
Culture
For decades, Ste. Genevieve was primarily an agricultural community. The ''
habitants
Habitants () were French settlers and the inhabitants of French origin who farmed the land along the two shores of the St. Lawrence River and Gulf in what is the present-day Province of Quebec in Canada. The term was used by the inhabitants ...
'' raised chiefly wheat and corn (maize), as well as tobacco. They produced more wheat than residents of St. Louis, and their grain products were shipped south, critical to survival of the French community at
, which had the wrong climate to cultivate such grains.
The village followed traditional practices: most of the townspeople lived on lots in town. They farmed land held in a common large field. This land was assigned and cultivated in the French style, in long, narrow strips that extended back from the river to the hills (at the first location) so that each settler would have some waterfront. Only the exterior of the ''
Grand Champ'' (Big Field) was fenced, but each owner of land was responsible for fencing his portion, to keep out livestock. The ''habitants'' used the same types of implements and plows as did farmers in 18th-century France. They used teams of
oxen to pull the wheeled plows.
After the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
in 1804, Anglo-Americans as well as German immigrants migrated to the village. It became more oriented to trade and merchants, but villagers retained many of their French cultural ways. The
Sisters of St. Joseph, a French teaching order, established a
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...
in the town, whose sisters taught in a Catholic school. The current
Ste. Genevieve Catholic Church was built in 1876 and modeled after the Gothic style of those in France. It was the third Catholic church built by the villagers.
Ste. Genevieve continues to celebrate its French cultural heritage with numerous annual events. Among them are
La Guiannée, a celebration associated with Christmas; French Fest; Jour de Fête;
King's Ball
In New France and in modern Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentuck ...
, and many others. Heritage tourism is important to the economy.
Late 19th century to present
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Ste. Genevieve also had numerous lime kilns and quarries, important to the industrialization of nearby cities. The city had numerous Africa-American families who had long been residents of the community, including
people of color
The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...
of partial French and German ancestry. Like the ethnic European French, most of these African-American families were members of the Catholic church in the town, and some were educated and property owners. Some had also been French speakers in the colonial period.
As the lime kilns and quarries were expanded, African-American migrant workers, mostly men, came from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas to take jobs in these industries. They tended to belong to Protestant sects, if they were religiously affiliated. From quite different cultural backgrounds, the two groups of African Americans did not intermingle much. The migrant workers lived in poorer areas of town or outside in company housing. They tended to congregate in a neighborhood referred to as The Shacks.
Race riot of 1930
By 1930 Ste Genevieve had about 2662 residents, of whom 170 were African American and the remainder European American. Another 170 African Americans lived outside the town in the county, closer to the work sites. The riot was a four day disturbance, long shrouded in secrecy, during which vigilantes drove away most of the town’s black residents, many of whom were recent arrivals recruited to work in local lime kilns and stone quarries.
The "French Connection"
The Ste. Genevieve-Modoc Ferry across the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
to Illinois is nicknamed the "French Connection". This refers to the
1971 film of the same name and, more directly, to the ferry's link to other French colonial sites in the area, such as Fort de Chartres and Fort Kaskasia State Historic Sites, and the Pierre Menard home. It runs daily year-round, unless the river is flooding. It can carry vehicles, walk-on passengers, and travelers with bicycles.
Geography
Ste. Genevieve is located along the west bank of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
near the
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
state line along
Interstate 55
Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...
,
U.S. Route 61, and
Missouri Route 32
Route 32 is a highway in Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at the Mississippi River near Ste. Genevieve; its western terminus is at U.S. Route 54 in El Dorado Springs. It is currently one of the longest highways in the state. Most of the high ...
, approximately south-southeast of
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
and north-northwest of
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
It has a
humid subtropical climate (''Cfa'') and average monthly temperatures range from 32.4° F in January to 78.6° F in July
Nearby communities
Demographics
2010 census
As of the census
of 2010, there were 4,410 people, 1,824 households, and 1,087 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was . There were 2,018 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.78%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 1.59%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.39%
Native American, 0.63%
Asian, 0.02%
Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawa ...
or
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.18% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.41% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.18% of the population.
There were 1,824 households, of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.4% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.94.
The median age in the city was 43 years. 21.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.2% were from 25 to 44; 27.3% were from 45 to 64; and 20.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.
2000 census
As of the census
of 2000, there were 4,476 people, 1,818 households, and 1,154 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 1,076.7 people per square mile (415.4/km
2). There were 1,965 housing units at an average density of 472.7 per square mile (182.4/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.07%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 2.14%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.58%
Native American, 0.31%
Asian, 0.25% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.65% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.12% of the population.
There were 1,818 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 23.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,929, and the median income for a family was $43,125. Males had a median income of $31,546 versus $19,804 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $17,361. About 7.8% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 18.8% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public education in Ste. Genevieve is administered by Ste. Genevieve R-II School District.
Ste. Genevieve has a
public library, the Ste. Genevieve Branch Library.
Government
Media
The ''Ste. Genevieve Herald'' is a weekly newspaper that has served Ste. Genevieve County since May 1882.
Notable people
*
Steve Bieser - Head Baseball Coach at the University of Missouri
*
Lewis Vital Bogy - U.S. Senator from Missouri
*
Henry Brackenridge
Henry Marie Brackenridge (May 11, 1786 – January 18, 1871) was an American writer, lawyer, judge, superintendent, and U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania.
Born in Pittsburgh in 1786, he was educated by his father, the writer and judge Hugh ...
- lived here as a boy with an ethnic French family, and wrote about them, the town and the Osage in his memoir
*
Firmin Rene Desloge
Firmin is a French surname and masculine given name, from the Late Latin Firminus, a derivative of ''firmus'' meaning "firm" or "steadfast". The instruction of St Paul to "be steadfast in the faith" gave the name great popularity among early Christ ...
- nephew of
Jean Ferdinand Rozier, arrived 1822, progenitor of the
Desloge Family in America
*
Augustus Caesar Dodge - US Senator from Iowa
*
Henry Dodge - US Senator from Wisconsin
*
Pierre Gibault - 18th-century French
Jesuit priest and missionary
*
Lewis Fields Linn - U.S. Senator from Missouri
*
William Pope McArthur - American naval officer and
hydrologist
Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...
*
Robert Moore - Oregon pioneer and founder of
Linn City, Oregon
*
Charles Nerinckx - founder of the
Sisters of Loretto
The Sisters of Loretto or the Loretto Community is a Catholic religious institute that strives "to bring the healing Spirit of God into our world." Founded in the United States in 1812 and based in the rural community of Nerinx, Kentucky, the ...
religious order
*
Nathaniel Pope
Nathaniel W. Pope (January 5, 1784 – January 23, 1850) was an American government leader in the early history of the State of Illinois. He served as the Secretary of the Illinois Territory, then as a Delegate to the United States House of Repr ...
- US Representative from the Illinois Territory
*
Philippe-François de Rastel de Rocheblave -
French military and
French-Canadian political figure in the 18th century
*
Prospect K. Robbins - surveyor who established the
Fifth Principal Meridian"Surveyors Challenge"
, ''Big Muddy'', Southeastern Missouri University
* Frank Rolfe - real estate investor; owner of the Ste. Genevieve Academy
* Jean Ferdinand Rozier - 19th-century businessman and partner of artist and naturalist John James Audubon
* François Vallé - 18th-century pioneer, mine owner, and land-holder
* John Hardeman Walker - US Congressman
Gallery of notable people
File:Gibault.png, Pierre Gibault
(1737–1802),
Jesuit priest
File:Henry_Dodge_portrait.jpg, Henry Dodge
(1782–1867),
U.S. Senator
(WI, 1848–1857)
File:Nathaniel Pope.jpg, Nathaniel Pope
Nathaniel W. Pope (January 5, 1784 – January 23, 1850) was an American government leader in the early history of the State of Illinois. He served as the Secretary of the Illinois Territory, then as a Delegate to the United States House of Repr ...
(1784–1850),
U.S. House of Representatives
(IL, 1817–1818)
File:JJAudubon.JPG, John James Audubon
(1785–1851),
French-American ornithologist, naturalist, hunter, and painter
File:Lewis_Fields_Linn.jpg, Lewis Fields Linn
(1796–1843),
U.S. Senator
(MO, 1795–1843)
File:Firmin_Rene_Desloge.jpg , Firmin René Desloge,
progenitor of Desloge family
The Desloge family, () centered mostly in Missouri and especially at St. Louis, rose to wealth through international commerce, sugar refining, oil drilling, fur trading, mineral mining, saw milling, manufacturing, railroads, real estate, and rive ...
; founder of Desloge Lead Company
File:Lewis V. Bogy - Brady-Handy.jpg, Lewis Vital Bogy
(1813–1877),
U.S. Senator
(MO, 1872–1877)
File:WPMcArthur.jpg, William Pope McArthur
(1814–1850),
first mapmaker of U.S. Pacific Coast
File:Felix_Rozier-1904-Aug-24.jpg, Felix Rozier
(1822–1908),
prominent business figure whose father, Jean Ferdinand Rozier, became business partners with John James Audubon
Historic flags of Ste. Genevieve
File:Flag_of_New_France_3_wht.jpg, Flag of New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
to 1763
File:Flag_of_New_Spain_e.png, Flag of New Spain
1763–1803
File:US_flag_15_stars_e.svg, 15 star-15 stripe US flag
1804–1818
File:Flag_of_Missouri.svg, Flag of Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
from 1913
Sister cities
* Bohlsbach
* Baden
Galleries
Recent
File:A color photograph of the Bolduc House in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, Louis Bolduc House Museum, c. 1785
File:Maison Bequette-Ribault.jpg, Maison Bequette-Ribault, c. 1789
File:Felix Valle State Historical Site-Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, Felix Vallé State Historic Site, c. 1818
File:First Brick House W of Mississippi River--Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, John Price "Old Brick" Building, c. 1804
File:Photograph of the Joseph Bogy House in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, Joseph Bogy House, c. 1870
File:Small House in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, Dr. Fenwick House, c. 1805
File:Southern Hotel Front View Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, Southern Hotel, c. 1820
File:Front View of a House in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, Jesse Robbins house, c. 1867
File:Photograph of a Geman-Type Brick House in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, A German style building
File:Photograph of a House on Main Street in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, A Victorian house
File:Photograph of a Small Brick Store on Main Street in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, A small shop
File:Lasource-Durand House Under a Tree in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, The Lasource-Durand Cabin
File:Photograph of a House in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, An interesting house
File:Photograph of a house on Gabouri St in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, A house near Gabouri Creek
File:An old house in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, An old house
File:Corner House Three-Quarter View-- Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, A 19th-century house
File:Memorial Cemetery Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, Memorial Cemetery, established 1787 and Missouri's oldest
File:Photograph of the Tug Holly J on Gabouri Creek near Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, The tug ''Holly J''
Archival
File:Indian Trading Post Front and Side Photograph--Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, Indian trading post
Shaw House
MDNR
File:Photograph of 1936 of a Cabin Behind the Amoureaux House in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, Cabin c. 1936
Bauvais-Amoureux House
MDNR
File:Bequet-Ribault_House_1937.png, Circa 1937
Maison Bequette-Ribault
File:Photograph of a Room Restored to the Original Look in the Bolduc House in Ste Genevieve MO.png, Sleeping quarters
Bolduc House
NSCDA/MO
File:Photograph of the Jean Baptiste Valle Barn in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, French style barn
Jean Baptiste Vallé House
File:Old Post Office in Ste Genevieve MO.jpg, City's first post office
See also
* Louisiana (New France)
Louisiana (french: La Louisiane; ''La Louisiane Française'') or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682 to 1769 and 1801 (nominally) to 1803, the area was named in honor of King Louis XIV, ...
* Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
* Illinois Country
The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Illinois ; , i.e. the Illinois people)—sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana)—was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is n ...
* Ohio Country
* New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
* New Spain
* French in the United States
* Timeline of New France history
This is a list of the timelines for the history of northern New France beginning with the first exploration of North America by France through being part of the French colonial empire.
* Beginnings to 1533 - northern region (present day Canada)
* ...
* Three Flags Day Three Flags Day commemorates March 9, and 10, 1804, when Spain officially completed turning over the Louisiana colonial territory to France, who then officially turned over the same lands to the United States, in order to finalize the 1803 Louisian ...
* A few acres of snow
* French colonization of the Americas
France began colonizing the Americas in the 16th century and continued into the following centuries as it established a colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere. France established colonies in much of eastern North America, on several Caribbe ...
* French colonial empire
* List of North American cities founded in chronological order
This is a list of settlements in North America by founding year and present-day country.
See also
* List of cities in the Americas by year of foundation
*List of Hudson's Bay Company trading posts
* List of French forts in North America
* ...
* Sainte Geneviève
* List of commandants of the Illinois Country
The Illinois Country was governed by military commandants for its entire period under French and British rule, and during its time as a county of Virginia. The presence of French military interests in the Illinois Country began in 1682 when Rob ...
* Historic regions of the United States
The territory of the United States and its overseas possessions has evolved over time, from the colonial era to the present day. It includes formally organized territories, proposed and failed states, unrecognized breakaway states, internationa ...
References
Further reading
* Ekberg, Carl J. ''Colonial Ste. Genevieve: An Adventure on the Mississippi Frontier'' (Gerald, MO: The Patrice Press, 1985)
* Ekberg, Carl J. ''François Vallé And His World: Upper Louisiana Before Louis and Clark'' (University of Missouri Press, 2002) 316 pp.
* Stepenoff, Bonnie. ''From French Community to Missouri Town: Ste. Genevieve in the Nineteenth Century'' (University of Missouri Press, 2006) 232 pp.
External links
United states 2010 census map
Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve, Inc.
Guibourd Historic House & Mecker Research Library
Ste. Genevieve County Historical and Genealogical Resources
Sainte Genevieve Chamber of Commerce
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Ste. Genevieve Herald
* Historic maps of Ste. Genevieve in th
Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection
at the University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
Sainte Geneviève National Historical Park
(NPS, est. 2019)
{{authority control
French-American culture in Missouri
French-Canadian culture in Missouri
Sainte Genevieve, Missouri
Sainte Genevieve, Missouri
County seats in Missouri
Populated places established in 1735
French colonial settlements of Upper Louisiana
1735 establishments in the French colonial empire
Cities in Missouri