Sainte Genevieve, Missouri
Sainte Genevieve, circa 1830. Color-tinted etching.
Detail Map of Missouri Counties, c. 1880s
Sainte Genevieve, Missouri is located on the western bank of the Mississippi River, about sixty miles south of Saint Louis. It was organized sometime between 1725 and 1750. In 1785, a flood led to the gradual relocation of the village to higher ground between the forks of the Gabouri Creek, the site of present-day Ste. Genevieve. The town was named for Saint Genevieve, the Patron Saint of Paris. Historically, the entire region was heavily influenced by the French.
The first settlers of the region originally came from France via Canada in search of mineral deposits along the banks of the river. Miners, traders and pioneers traveled down the Mississippi and settled in towns and villages along its bank.
When the first Brothers arrived in Ste. Genevieve, the United States had recently acquired a large territory from France through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The region stretched from New Orleans up to Canada and included all property along the Mississippi River. It was not until 1812, that the state of Missouri was officially established.
When the Brothers were there, Ste. Genevieve's population was about 1,500-2,000, not counting Native Americans and slaves. While it was the earliest permanent town in Missouri, by 1820 Saint Louis maintained a greater population and hosted the state's government.
The Catholic Church spire peaking out from the lush foliage, as seen from the Academy, 2018.
With a largely French and Catholic population, the Catholic Church played a prominant role in the history of Sainte Genevieve. In the early 1800s, church leaders were French-speakers and church services and parish registers were in French. When the Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana wanted to start a Catholic school there, he turned to a French religious congregation, the Brothers of the Christian Schools.
Many of the homes and businesses in Ste. Genevieve, which still exist, were completed before or at the time the three French Christian Brothers arrived in town. The Amoureux House, erected around 1792, the Jacques Guibourd House completed in 1806 and the Bequette-Ribault House, built the same year as the Academy, remain good examples of poteaux-en-terre construction. The Bolduc House, erected in 1792, and the Felix Valle House, completed in 1818, would have been common sights for the Christian Brothers. The Bolduc-LeMeilleur House and the Old Courthouse were both under construction while the Brothers were teaching at the Academy.
