Ste. Genevieve (Missouri)
Ste. Genevieve County
29-64180
Ste. Genevieve (French: Sainte -Geneviève ) is the administrative center of Ste. Genevieve County in the southeast of the U.S. state of Missouri with 4476 inhabitants. Ste. Genevieve is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
Geography
Ste. Genevieve is located at 37 ° 58'37 " north latitude and 90 ° 02'55 " west longitude. The city covers 10.8 square kilometers, which consist exclusively of land area.
Ste. Genevieve is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, which forms the border between the states of Missouri and Illinois here.
Through the city leads the U.S. Highway 61 In these flows in Ste. Genevieve Missouri State Route 32 and thus reaches its eastern terminus. 10 km west of the city runs the Chicago Convention on St. Louis and Memphis to New Orleans leading Interstate 55
About a ferry St. Genevieve is connected to Modoc (Illinois ) on the opposite bank of the Mississippi.
Ste. Genevieve is located 108 km south of St. Louis and 364 kilometers north of Memphis.
History
Established the place was was around 1750 by French settlers and refugees from the area east of the Mississippi. Ste. Genevieve, which was named after the patron saint of Paris, is the oldest permanent settlement of European immigrants west of the Mississippi. Most of the inhabitants at that time were French - Canadian descent, while the founding families were already established over several generations in the Mississippi area. In the period before the Louisiana Purchase, the Illinois Country (French Pays des Illinois) or Upper Louisiana region was called (French Haute- Louisiane ). Ancient sources suggest a founding date of Ste. Genevieve to 1735, but the majority of traditional documents is based on a time around 1750. The population east of the Mississippi took more land, the soil of the old villages were drained and the decreasing pressure by hostile Indians set made a settlement possible.
The Mississippian culture, which existed from about 700 AD to about 1500 AD and much earlier cultures were the first civilizations in the region. Nevertheless in the time of European settlement have no Indians near the western bank of the Mississippi. A map of Jacques -Nicolas Bellin in 1755, where for the first time Ste. Genevieve was presented, showed settlements of Kaskaskia Indians on the eastern shore, but not on the west bank on a section of about 160 km.
At the time of its founding was Ste. Genevieve the latest in a trio of French settlements in the central Mississippi Valley. 8 km northeast lay on the east bank of the Fort de Chartres, which was the official capital of the Pay de Illinois at that time. Kaskaskia (later the first capital of the State of Illinois ) was approximately 8 km to the southeast. Cahokia and Prairie du Rocher were on the east bank in Illinois also early French settlements.
After the Peace of Paris in 1763, which was closed ( called the Seven Years War in Europe ) after the French and Indian War, France ceded all the territory east of the Mississippi from the United Kingdom. After derköniglichen Proclamation of 1763, which established the entire territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi as Indian Country, French -speaking Canadians and settlers arrived in the area east of the Mississippi amplified in the west of the Mississippi River, as well as Ste. Genevieve.
In previously concluded secret agreements of Fontainebleau between France and Spain all the territory west of the Mississippi to Spain was ceded that called this area of New Spain. Spain moved the capital of the upper Louisiana from Fort Chartres in the the located 80 km south of St. Louis. Although Ste. Genevieve now came under Spanish control, the city maintained for the next 40 years linguistically and culturally its French character.
During the 1770s, was Ste. Genevieve repeatedly attacked by Indians of the Osage and Missouri tribes to steal horses from the settlers. But there was also increased contacts between Indians and the French, especially through marriage and trade. In the 1780s came as a result of her downcast uprising against the newly formed United States Shawnee and Delaware over the Mississippi River and settled south of Ste. Genevieve. Likewise, the Peoria settled in the area around Ste. Genevieve and it lasted until the 1790s, a peaceful coexistence with the settlement. After 1790, however, raids accumulated Osage and there was increased to deadly clashes. Also attacked the Shawnee and Osage, the Peoria.
The Spanish authorities wanted to pacify the tribes by force, but did not find sufficient French settlers to build a militia. Rather, a negotiated solution has been greatly facilitated by the extensive trade contacts with the Indians.
After the flooding in 1785, the city was moved from its original location in the middle of the flood plain around 3 km to the north, while a little further up from the shore again.
The city developed as a center for the surrounding agriculture, especially wheat, corn and tobacco cultivation, which was made of mostly independent family farms. There is always more agricultural products were produced, which also permitted ever greater supply of the lower Mississippi area with flour and grain, and export through the port of New Orleans in addition to self-sufficiency. 1807, the then Secretary of the Louisiana Territory, Frederick Bates, that Ste. Genevieve the wealthiest city in Louisiana is.
For decades, Ste. Genevieve aligned predominantly agricultural. It has been cultivated mainly wheat, corn and tobacco. The products were shipped to St. Louis and beyond to New Orleans.
The traditional practice was that most of the population lived in the city and outside the city worked on their land. These lay together and fenced at the common outside.
After the Louisiana Purchase in 1804, many Anglo-American and German settlers came to the place. Gradually trade and commerce began to grow in importance, but culturally kept the place in much of its French character. The Institute of sœurs de saint Joseph ( Sisters of St. Joseph ), a French teaching order, founded in the city a convention and talked for a school. The Catholic church in the city was built in 1876 and is based on French churches in style.
Architecture
The oldest building in Ste. Genevieve, whose architecture is referred to as the Creole as French Colonial, all date from the period of Spanish rule. The characteristic buildings from this period were around in the soil ( poteaux en terre ) or on a stone foundation ( poteaux sur should ) erected vertically anchored wooden post. This style differs fundamentally from the classic American log cabins, which consist of horizontally disposed beams. Three of the five are still preserved in the United States building of this type are in Ste. Genevieve.
In addition there are a number of buildings that were built around vertical wooden posts, which stand on a horizontal girder. The oldest building in the city is the Louis Bolduc House.
Culture
The French heritage of Ste. Genevieve is obtained by committed annual festivals such as La Guiannée, French Festival, Jour de Fête, King's Ball and others alive.
French Connection
The ferry from Ste. Genevieve by Modoc in Illinois is also called French Connection in the vernacular, because through them different sights from the French colonial period are interconnected.
Demographic data
In the census of 2000 a population of 4,476 was determined. These distributed to 1,818 households in 1,154 families. The population density was 415.4 / km ². There were 1,965 buildings, which corresponds to a site density of 182.4 / km ².
The population was in 2000 from 96.07 % White, 2.14 % African American, 0.58 % Native Americans, 0.31 % Asian, and 0.25 % other. 0.65 % said to be descended from at least two of these groups. 1.12% of the population were Hispanics who belonged to the various of the aforementioned groups.
21.9% were under the age of 18, 7.7 % from 18 to 24, 25.0 % 25-44, 21.8 % from 45 to 64 and 23.6 % 65 and older. The average age was 42 years. For every 100 females were statistically 92.7 men in the over 18 -year-olds 89.8.
The average income per household was $ 33,929, the average family income is $ 43,125. Men's income averaged $ 31,546, and for women about $ 19,804. The per capita income amounted to $ 17,361. Around 7.8 % of families and 9.6 % of the total population were below the poverty line income.