Marie "Julia" Soulard, née Cérre (1775–1845) was an American landowner. Soulard donated the land that hosts

Soulard Farmers Market Soulard Farmers Market is the oldest operating Marketplace, public market in St. Louis, Missouri in the Soulard neighborhood, and the only one operated by the city. It has a reputation of being the oldest public market in the United States west ...

to the city of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. Marie Julia Cérre was likely born at

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were a historical Indigenous people 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 ...

in the

Illinois Country The Illinois Country ( ; ; ), also referred to as Upper Louisiana ( ; ), was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s that later fell under Spanish and British control before becoming what is now part of the Midwestern United States. Whi ...

, where her father, Montreal-born Jean-Gabriel Cerré, was a successful merchant. Her mother was Catherine Cérre, née Giard. Julia Cérre Soulard had an older sister, Marie Therese, who married

Auguste Chouteau René-Auguste Chouteau Jr. (; September 7, 1749, or September 26, 1750 – February 24, 1829Beckwith, 8.), also known as Auguste Chouteau, was one of the founders of St. Louis, Missouri, a successful fur trader and a politician. He and his partne ...

, the founder of St. Louis. Her father moved to St. Louis in 1779 or 1780, some fifteen years after St. Louis was founded and some time after he had taken possession of a significant amount of property in the region. In 1795, Julia Cérre married Antoine Pierre Soulard (1766–1825). Antoine Soulard, a refugee of the French Revolution, was working as the Surveyor-General of

Upper Louisiana The Illinois Country ( ; ; ), also referred to as Upper Louisiana ( ; ), was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s that later fell under Spanish and British control before becoming what is now part of the Midwestern United States. Whi ...

when St. Louis was in Spanish territory. Her father gifted them 63 acres or 76

arpent An arpent (, sometimes called arpen) is a unit of length and a unit of area. It is a pre-metric French unit based on the Roman ''actus''. It is used in Quebec, some areas of the United States that were part of French Louisiana, and in Mauritius ...

s of land when they married. Antoine Soulard developed an orchard on the property. She and Antoine Soulard had four children: James Gaston, Elizabeth, Henry "Gustave", and Benjamin. After the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

, the validity of Soulard's ownership of the land was called into question. Antoine Soulard filed suit but died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without a legally valid will, resulting in the distribution of their estate under statutory intestacy laws rather than by their expressed wishes. Alternatively this may also apply ...

; his heirs, including Julia Soulard, spent over a decade fighting for ownership. The case went to the

Supreme Court of Missouri The Supreme Court of Missouri (SCOMO) is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constituti ...

and later the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. The claimants lost in '' Soulard and others vs. United States'' in 1830. However, the Soulards were awarded 124 acres in 1836. Julia Soulard lived on the land until 1836, when part of it was annexed to the city of St. Louis; this was known as "Soulard's first addition." A second addition was annexed in 1842, with Soulard transferring some land to the city under her condition that it be used as a public market. Soulard worked with Bishop

Joseph Rosati Joseph Rosati, CM (30 January 1789 – 25 September 1843) was an Italian-born Catholic missionary to the United States who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Saint Louis in the Missouri Territory from 1826 to 1843. He built the first ...

to build a church, Holy Trinity, on two lots she donated. Holy Trinity did not materialize due to low funds; later

Vincentian Fathers The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vincentian Family, a ...

took over the property and built St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church on the site, 1427 S. Ninth Street. Soulard and her family members were interred in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis. The neighborhood

Soulard __NOTOC__ Soulard ( ) is a historic neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the home of Soulard Farmers Market, the oldest farmers' market west of the Mississippi River. Soulard is one of eight certified local historic districts in the city of ...

, Julia's Cafe at Soulard Farmers Market, Soulard Street, Cerre Street, and Julia Street are named for Soulard and her family.

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Mound City on the Mississippi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soulard, Marie Julia Cerre 1775 births 1845 deaths People from St. Louis People from Kaskaskia, Illinois American people of French-Canadian descent Burials at Calvary Cemetery (St. Louis) 19th-century American landowners 19th-century American women landowners

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