Exploring Ste. Genevieve Missouri (2)

…continuing with our trip to visit family in the St. Louis Missouri area and our tour of historic Ste. Genevieve.  This town of about 5,000 residents is named for Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris France.  Genevieve, who lived in the 5^th century AD, was most revered for leading a ‘prayer marathon’ that is said to have saved Paris by diverting Attila’s Huns away from the city.

At the time of European settlement at Ste. Genevieve, no American Indian tribes lived in this area on the west bank of the Mississippi River.  The closest Indian village on this side of the river was 100 miles away.  Most of the initial European settlers were of French-Canadian descent.

More historic structures and a variety of shopping opportunities coming up below…

This is the Rene LeMeilleur House at 101 South Main Street.  This Anglo-American timber-framed building was built in 1820.  Basically this house shows the transition from French vernacular design elements combining with British-American construction techniques.  The house and front gallery rests on a limestone rubble foundation.

Rene LeMeilleur died shortly after the home’s completion.  It then passed onto his mother-in-law, Catherine Bolduc, the widow of Etienne Bolduc.  Later it was acquired by Jean Babtiste Valle who gave the home to the Sisters of Loretto in 1837.  They occupied it for many years. 

Founded in Kentucky in 1812, this Catholic organization currently has communities in 16 states across the USA as well as in Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Ghana, Pakistan and China.  Over the years, the Sisters earned a reputation for educational innovation as well as racial and religious tolerance

Located next to the LeMeilleur house, this is the Louis Bolduc House.  This is the first historic structure in Ste. Genevieve to be authentically restored back to the way it was when it was completed in the 1790s.  It is a prime example of traditional French Colonial architecture from that period.  The walls of the house were constructed with heavy oak timbers set about 6 inches apart and then infilled with a mixture of mud, straw and horsehair.  This mixture, called ‘bousillage’, hardens to a cement like texture.

This property was owned by Bolduc family descendants until the 1940s.  It’s been furnished with pieces that were typical of the 1790s and, along with the adjacent LeMeilleur house, it is a National Historic Landmark and it now serves as a historic house museum.  The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America (Missouri), owns and operates the museum.  Tours are available with an emphasis on French and Spanish culture, influence and architecture.  To learn more about this multi-unit museum, just go to Home | My Site (frenchcolonialamerica.org).

The Beauvais-Linden House at 116 South Main Street features educational French Colonial activities for kids, as well as adults.  They can experience traditional crafts and skills by “shopping” in the vintage store.  They can learn about history and language in a school room from the 1700s.  Souvenirs are also available for purchase.

The Beauvais-Linden House was built ca. 1820.  The 2 rooms on the north side of the house constitute the original vertical log structure while the rest of the first floor and the second story were added over the years.  As you can see from the photo above, the docent for the Linden house was imparting information about historic Ste. Genevieve to Laurie, Bonnie and Bill.  To learn more about the learning possibilities, you can just go to: https://visitstegen.com/2020/02/hands-on-history-at-the-linden-house/.

History Lesson: The Ste. Genevieve Race Riot of 1930

Balancing our history requires an even hand.  As most people know, there are plenty of not so outstanding bits and blots of US history to contemplate.

In 1930, Ste. Genevieve had a population of about 2700 residents.  About 170 of them were African Americans and the remainder were European Americans.  Another 170 African Americans lived outside the town in the county…closed to work sites.

The riot was a 4 day event, long shrouded in secrecy.  Vigilantes drove away most of the town’s black residents, many of whom were recent arrivals that had been recruited to work in the local lime kilns and stone quarries.  State Police were called in twice to the little town, reportedly to prevent a triple lynching.  Threatened with lynching’s, all of the black population, except for 2 families, left the area.

This is the Jean Baptiste Bossier House. (1783 – 1842) Speculation is that when both his father and his mother died in Louisiana, he moved to the new American Missouri where members of his mother’s family (Beauvais) were already established.  He built the first section of this house in 1811.  Built in 3 stages, the Bossier home has a long history of family life and shopkeeping.

The initial part of the home now serves as the Spice and Reception area for the Quintessential Rivertown Spice and Tea Company.  This store features organic, wild crafted and kosher spices as well as roots and barks that will take customers back to the past.  In addition, there is a tearoom and tasting area…with 18 or more different varieties of tea to sample. Of course, there also is a gift shop.  Website: Home | Quintessential Rivertown Spice & Tea (qrstea.net).

More shopping can be found in the relatively ‘new’ Kempff building at 234 Market Street.  Francis Anthony Kempff (1827 – 1870) built this commercial structure with its dual storefronts in 1851.  Today, this building, the oldest commercial building on Market Street, is a shopping opportunity...

Harold’s Famous Bee Company, which is owned by two “patented beekeepers”, now occupies both storefronts of this 172 year old building.  They formulate products using ingredients harvested from honey bees, making ‘healthy products to help people while maintaining environmental responsibility.”  They also make mead for those who imbibe in this honey based alcoholic beverage.

In addition to honey-tasting, their flagship product is “Harold’s Famous Bee Cream”, a patented formulation that uses the healthy benefits of honey bee venom to soothe joints, muscles and dry, rough skin.  We didn’t buy any cream but you can check it out at Harold's Famous Bee Co. | Just Two Patented Beekeepers With The Sweetest Bar in Missouri (haroldsfamous.com).

Another sweet shopping opportunity is right next door to Harold’s Famous Bee Company.  The Sweet Things Sweet Shop is based in the P.U. Jaccard Building at 242 Market Street.  This small but ‘sweet’ looking building was built ca. 1860 and it served as a jewelry store.  P.U. Jaccard was a watch-maker and jeweler, a member of the well-known Jaccard family of jewelers from St. Louis Missouri.  The family name is still active in the jewelry business.

The Sweet Things Sweet Shop is chock full of all types of candies, from old favorites to new and popular confections.  They feature chocolates, lollipops, licorice, jawbreakers…and even something called “Crickets”, which are sour cream and onion flavored.  Argggg!  Different strokes for different folks… Just to round things out, this store also features books and toys for children.  Learn more at Sweet Things - Ste. Genevieve, MO Candy, Toys, Books, & More | World's Okayest Candy Store (square.site).

We really liked the look of the Marie Hubardeau LaPorte House at 248 Market Street.  This timber framed house was built ca. 1830 with parts of it possibly completed sometime in the 1790s.  It is a good example of prominent members of the French community embracing the Anglo-American building traditions.

Today, “Ms. Bette’s Place” is available as a short term rental.  Reportedly the décor is French country.  It features 3 bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and a bathroom.  The location is perfect for those that want to savor Ste. Genevieve’s history, its shops and other attractions.  I checked it out.  Four adult guests for 2 nights with fees included would pay $736.72 with fees and taxes.  That’s $184.18 per night per couple…about the cost of a room at a mid-range hotel chain.  Check it out at Ms. Bette’s Place (City) – Visit Ste Gen.

This building is clearly marked as “The Old Brick House”.  While the sign on the building proclaims that it was built in 1785, I’ll go with the National Register of Historic Places that reports that it was built ca. 1804.  The original owner was John Price, who ran a ferry across the Mississippi River between Ste. Genevieve Missouri and Kaskakia Illinois.  A ferry still operates on the same route, however the original village of Kaskaskia is under the river.

Local legends abound as regards this former home.  One is that that bricks used to build it were hand-made in France and imported to North America.  It is said that at one time the building was used as a courthouse and a school as well.  A fur trading post was later built in the back and the cellar served as the quarters for the slaves.

Today The Old Brick House is a restaurant.  It’s open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner…and for breakfast as well, Mondays through Fridays.  Learn more at OLD BRICK HOUSE, Sainte Genevieve - Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Phone Number - Tripadvisor.

I couldn’t resist interrupting my photo exploration of Ste. Genevieve's historical buildings when I spotted this old Nash Metropolitan parked near The Old Brick House.  These American automobiles were assembled in England and marketed mostly in the USA from 1953 until 1961. 

This car was designed in Kenosha Wisconsin.  However, Nash Automobile management decided that it wouldn’t be viable to build this car from scratch in the USA due to tooling costs.  So it was built overseas using existing mechanical components.  Britain’s Austin Motor Company was selected to build these autos.  This early ‘sub compact’ or ‘economy’ car was the first postwar American car that was marketed specifically to women.  A total of 94,986 were built before production ceased.  The vast majority of them were shipped to the USA.

Note: There is a Nash Metropolitan Club with about 2,900 members.  Check it out at Metropolitan Owners Club of North America (MOCNA) Public Group | Facebook.

The cornerstone for the Ste. Genevieve Catholic Church was laid down at the end of April in 1876 and the building was consecrated in September of 1880.  Seventy-five percent of the cost of the church was donated by Odile Pratte Valle, the widow of Felix Valle.  The parish of Ste. Genevieve was started in January 1759 by Jesuits who came from Quebec. 

The site of the present church has been used as a church since the 1790s when an old log church was moved here to higher ground.  An early stone church was consecrated here in 1837 and the current church was built around the previous stone structure.  Foundations are still visible in the basement of this church.  Commandant Francois Valle II and a few of his family members are buried below the church nave. 

As of 2013, the church served about 1,1oo families and it had about 2 dozen religious relics.  One of them belonged to Ste. Genevieve herself and it was placed around the neck of her statue inside the church.  Some of the saints’ relics were stolen from the church during the 2012 – 2013 Christmas holidays.

One last stop… More Shopping!!!

This is The Antique Mall at Ste. Genevieve Missouri.  It’s been totally remodeled and enhanced, but this antique mall is located in a century old factory building that formerly housed a washing machine factory, a toy factory and the Kisco Boiler Company.  The original idea was to save and restore the old brick structure so it could contribute to Ste. Genevieve’s unusual collection of historic structures.  The oldest section of the old factory dates back to 1903. 

October 24, 2021 was when the fate and purpose of the old factory became clear.  That was the date when the St. Mary Antique Mall, the largest such mall in the state, was destroyed by an EF-4 tornado.  What began as a temporary place for vendors from St. Mary to store their goods, ended as the new antique mall, and best yet, it’s close to the action and the visitors in downtown Ste. Genevieve.

The Ste. Genevieve Antique Mall opened for business in the summer of 2022.  It has 80 booths full of collectables, gifts, art and treasures.  Learn more at The Antique Mall Ste Genevieve | Sainte Genevieve MO | Facebook.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave