Exploring Ste. Genevieve Missouri

After arriving in the St. Louis area for a visit with Laurie’s family, we decided to drive down to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri’s oldest permanent European settlement.  Laurie sister Bonnie and her husband Bill drove.  While they’ve visited the town or village in the not too distant past, it has been over 40 years since Laurie and I have been there.

Ste. Genevieve was founded in 1735 by French Canadian colonists and other settlers from east of the Mississippi River.  Parts of this old town are listed as the Ste. Genevieve National Registered Historic District.  In addition, as of 2020, parts of the village are home to the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park, the 422^nd unit of the National Park Service.

This former Red Wing Shoe Store on Merchant Street in Ste. Genevieve, also known as the Myers Shoe Store, is apparently no longer in business.  Despite that, given its handsome appearance, age and the name of its former occupant, I ‘had’ to include it in this post.  Love the ‘look’…I guessed that it was probably ca. 120 years old.  It has been well maintained.

After a little research, I learned that this is the Mary E. Kern Building/aka Myers Shoes.  According to what I found, this wood framed building has one of the best preserved facades of any nineteenth century commercial building in Ste. Genevieve.  I was just a little off on my estimate of its age.  Built in 1893 it is 130 years old this year...

I included the Orris Theater in this post primarily because I love the look of the old ‘downtown’ movie theaters.  The Orris is right next to the old shoe store.  Built in 1932, this old 500 seat theater ‘went dark’ at the end of August 2009.  I did note that the marquee has been restored to its original condition. 

Located at 265 Merchant Street, the Orris has served as a bar and restaurant but today it is an event and performance center.  This past July, among other events, the Orris featured tribute bands for Bob Seger, Fleetwood Mac, Styx and Def Leppard.  For more information, go to The Orris | Sainte Genevieve MO | Facebook.

This large brick home was built in 1879 by Emile P. Vogt.  Emile, of French and German heritage, was born in Ste. Genevieve in 1842 and he died there in December of 1897.  He was married in 1866 and he and his wife Mattie had 9 children.  Emile was of French and German descent.  He was a civil engineer, a Land Examiner and a Real Estate Agent.  I do know that his descendants/relatives still reside in Ste. Genevieve.

So why did I include the Red Wing Shoe Building, the Orris Theater and this home in my post about Ste. Genevieve?  It is because, as old as these buildings/homes may be, they are relatively new in the scope of the town’s history.

FYI, the Vogt House is now the location for Treasured Memories, a florist and gift shop.  To learn more just go to TREASURED MEMORIES FLORIST & GIFTS | Sainte Genevieve MO | Facebook.

This large old home now serves as the home for the Brix Urban Winery and Market.  This 3,986 square foot home/structure was built in 1908.  In 2019 it was listed for sale at a price of $399,900.  It was purchased in 2020 for only $224,900.

Thanks to my better half and her ‘smart phone’, I was able to find a list of many of the properties I photographed in Ste. Genevieve.  There are so many properties listed that it’s a bit overwhelming…

Ste. Genevieve offers an almost overwhelming plethora of old structures built after almost every historical style that existed in the early history of the USA.  One’s head can spin when trying to capture homes and commercial buildings of interest.  But, in addition, the village also offers plenty of opportunities for visitors to spend a bit of money. 

Bonnie and Bill did buy some wine and a bottle of mead from Brix Urban Winery and Market.  Brix creates their own varieties of mead and they sell ciders and fruit wines as well.  Of course, other products round out this store’s offerings.  Check it out at Order Mead Online | Historic Ste Genevieve | Brix Urban Winery and Market.

The Dr. Benjamin Shaw House or Bossier-Shaw House was built in 1819.  The front two rooms were constructed by Jean Baptiste Bossier after he acquired the property in late 1818.  Bossier, a prominent local merchant, who also served in Missouri’s first legislature, built the 20 foot by 33 foot structure for his store and office.  On the interior, silhouettes of the original counters and shelves are apparent on the painted wallboards.

In turn, Bossier sole the structure to Dr. Benjamin Shaw in 1837.  Shaw, who was a widower, remarried in 1845 and then he added a room across the back of the building as well as 2 more fireplaces in the house.

This portrait of Jean Baptiste Bossier was made by John James Audubon in April of 1821.  The portrait is owned by the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City Missouri.

This Federal style house was built in 1818 by Jacob Philipson, a Jewish merchant from Philadelphia Pennsylvania.  In 1824, it became the commercial outlet and home of Felix Valle and Odile Pratte-Valle.  The home is furnished in the style of the 1830s with many artifacts that show the American influence on the French community of Ste. Genevieve following the Louisiana Purchase, transferring the area from France to the United States.

The door on the right led to the store of Menard and Valle while the door on the left was the entrance to the Valle’s home.  The store portion is an authentically stocked mercantile from the mid-1830s.  The Felix Valle house is now part of a Missouri State Historic Site that includes the Dr. Benjamin Shaw house and one other home from that period.

The Valle family traced their history back to a French colonial officer.  They had a long connection with slavery.  Three enslaved men who worked in Felix Valle’s lead mines formed part of the “1852 Ste. Genevieve Stampede” trying to escape to Illinois.  Their efforts were in vain as the $1,600 reward offered for their return was just too tempting for some Illinois residents and they were captured.  In 1877, 3 former slaves were bequeathed $300 by Felix Valle…writing that they were ‘formerly owned by me’.

This is one of the most distinctive early nineteenth century commercial buildings in Ste. Genevieve.  The Dufor-Rozier Building at 201 Merchant Street was erected ca. 1818 by the firm of Keil, Bisch and Roberts as an office and warehouse. 

At some point after 1831, (date uncertain), the structure was purchased by French-American businessman, Henry L. Rozier Sr., as a bank building.  Rozier was an interesting character and his family was well established in the area.  General Fermin A. Rozier, Henry's father or uncle, was business partners with other French immigrants to include John James Audubon and later, Rozier’s nephew and lead firm mogul, Firmin Rene Desloge.   

Audubon and Fermin Rozier traveled to the USA and continued the partnership at Audubon’s father’s property in Pennsylvania.  Shipping goods ahead, the pair started a general store in Louisville Kentucky.  In April of 1811, Audubon sold his portion of the business to Rozier so he could continue his studies and art work.  Rozier paid Audubon $3,000 for his share. (The equivalent of almost $70,000 today) From everything that I could find, the Rozier family still has roots in Ste. Genevieve.

This is the Joseph Bogy House.  Located at 163 Merchant Street, the first portion was built in 1810 and this five-bay two-story house with the Doric columns was expanded ca. 1870.  This is yet another unusual feature of the Ste. Genevieve Historic District.  Most visitors focus on the old French Creole buildings…but in any other town, this 200+ year old house would be a ‘stand out’ historical home.

Joseph Bogy, the home’s builder, was born in Illinois in 1783 and he moved to Ste. Genevieve in 1805.  He was a member of the General Assembly of the Missouri Territory in 1816 and he was elected to the state Senate in 1822.  Joseph owned a lead mine in the area and he served as a secretary to the Spanish Governor during the Spanish occupation of the Louisiana Territory.  Joseph and his wife Marie had 11 children.  Their son, Lewis Vital Bogy, served as a United States Senator from Missouri beginning in 1873, but he died in office in 1877.

Audubon’s Hotel on North Main Street was first opened in 1904.  It was originally named the City Hotel and later it was called the Hotel Ste. Genevieve.  This centrally located hotel was fully remodeled in 2018.  Today it features a bar and restaurant as well as 7 boutique-style rooms that offer Old-World Charm.  To learn more about the Audubon Hotel, just go to Hotel Audubon (City) – Visit Ste Gen.

A little history…

After the British defeated the French in the French and Indian War, in 1762 France secretly ceded the area of the west bank of the Mississippi River to Spain…which formed Louisiana, aka. New Spain.  The Spanish controlled the area for more than 40 years, often through mostly French-speaking officials.  Hence, Ste. Genevieve retained its French language, customs and character. 

Ste. Genevieve moved about 2 miles inland from its original location on the Mississippi flood plain after the great flood of 1785.  Agriculture ruled and the village sent many tons of flour each year for sale in Lower Louisiana and New Orleans.  In 1807, Frederick Bates, the Secretary of the Louisiana Territory after the USA completed the Louisiana Purchase, referred to Ste. Genevieve as “most wealthy village in the entire Louisiana Territory.

The Jean-Baptiste Valle House is a large and quite imposing example of the French “post on sill” construction.  It was built with vertical log construction on a stone foundation.  The home is about 80 feet wide across the front and almost 60 feet from front to back.  It is one of two remaining buildings from the French Colonial era in Ste. Genevieve that includes a basement for a use other than for animals and storage.  This home was built in 1794 and it was the home of the last Commandant of Ste. Genevieve.  Valle oversaw the transition from colonial town to part of the United States after the Louisiana Purchase. 

Several of Jean Baptiste Valle’s family members also served as Commandant.  That person was the civil and military leader in the town and he served as a point of contact for the local governors and everyday residents.  The first Valle to hold the position was Jean’s father Francois ca. 1780.  Jean assumed the post in 1804. 

In the 1960s, the then owners of the Jean Valle home restored the property to its pre-1850 appearance.  It served as a private home until 2010…for about 216 years! 

Today, the home and its gardens are part of the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park and it’s open to the public when Park Rangers are available.  To learn more about this new gem in the National Park Service portfolio of attractions, go to Ste. Geneviève National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).

I love dioramas and this is a dandy!  This diorama of Ste. Genevieve Missouri was hand-crafted by Lewis Pruneau, a master model-maker who is from the town.  We viewed this model of Ste. Genevieve in the Vistor’s Center.  Normally on display at the Beauvais-Amoureux House, where roof repairs were in process, the diorama measures 9 feet by 11 feet. 

FYI, the Beauvais-Amourex House was built in 1792 and it is part of the National Historical Park in Ste. Genevieve.  There are only 5 surviving poteaux-en-terre buildings surviving in the entire United States and 3 of them are located in Ste. Genevieve.

In this diorama the historic streetscapes were recreated to appear as they did in 1832.  The model includes the surviving historic structures and modern structures and intrusions were removed and replace by recreations of those historic structures that were lost over time…

The Visitor’s Center in Ste. Genevieve Missouri is located at 66 South Main Street.  It is open daily from 9 AM until 5 PM.  Phone: 573-880-7189.

That’s all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave