Original French Colonial Mansions Line the Streets of This 300-Year-Old Missouri River Community

Sainte Genevieve, Missouri

French settlers built this place before America was even a dream, and somehow it survived floods, wars, and time itself. The streets still follow the same paths laid out three hundred years ago. This is the story of America’s oldest town west of the Mississippi.

The First French Settlement West of the Mississippi

French-Canadian settlers crossed the Mississippi around 1735, looking for good farmland. They built a small village and named it after Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris.

These settlers wanted the rich soil to grow wheat, corn, and tobacco. Many had already lived in the Illinois Country for years before moving across the river.

What began as a tiny outpost soon grew into a busy settlement. These pioneers created the first permanent European community west of the Mississippi in what would later become Missouri.

The Great Flood That Moved a Town

The Mississippi River rose fast in April 1785, spilling over its banks. Villagers could only watch as water swallowed their homes and fields in what they called “The Year of the Great Waters.”

Instead of rebuilding in the same spot, everyone decided to move. They found higher ground three miles northwest and started over.

Some took apart their houses piece by piece to reuse what they could. It took several years for all families to relocate, but they established their new town safely on limestone bluffs above flood level.

Le Grand Champ – The Big Field Agricultural System

Farmers walked to their strips of land in Le Grand Champ each morning, a 7,000-acre field outside the village. This farming system was purely French, different from anything American settlers used.

Each family owned long, narrow sections of the fertile bottomland. No fences divided the individual plots, though a big fence surrounded the entire field to keep animals out.

The layout made plowing easier and gave everyone some good soil and some poor soil. This system let neighbors share work and tools while still owning their own land.

Poteaux-en-terre – Rare Vertical Post Architecture

Workers shaped cedar logs to build house walls standing straight up and down. Unlike American log cabins with horizontal logs, French colonists used vertical posts set right into the ground.

This poteaux-en-terre (posts-in-earth) method came from France. It was quick to build but left houses at risk from floods, bugs, and rot.

Only five of these buildings still exist in North America. Three are in Sainte Genevieve – the Beauvais-Amoureux House, Bolduc House, and Guibourd-Valle House – making them some of the rarest historic buildings around.

The Day Spain Took Control Without Firing a Shot

Villagers became Spanish subjects overnight in 1770. France had secretly given all land west of the Mississippi to Spain years earlier in the 1762 Treaty of Fontainebleau.

Spanish officials raised their flag, but daily life barely changed. The new rulers smartly picked local French residents as leaders and let French customs continue.

For forty years, this far-off corner of New Spain kept its French character. People spoke French, built French-style houses, and farmed like the French while officially under Spanish rule.

Relations With Native American Tribes

Little Osage raiders often swept into the village during the 1770s to steal horses. These raids became a regular problem for settlers.

Still, mixed relationships formed between French colonists and native tribes. French-Canadian men frequently married native women, creating family ties. The fur trade built business partnerships despite occasional fights.

After the American Revolution, Shawnee and Delaware tribes moved west of the Mississippi, setting up villages south of Sainte Genevieve. Things stayed mostly peaceful until the 1790s when Big Osage warriors began more aggressive raids.

Louis Bolduc and His National Historic Landmark

Louis Bolduc was one of the richest men in town. As a successful merchant, lead miner, and fur trader, he built one of the finest houses around in 1792.

His first home at the old river location was damaged in the 1785 flood. Bolduc saved what he could and used those materials in his new, bigger house.

The tall vertical log walls and steep roof showed off French design. Today the Bolduc House is a National Historic Landmark and one of the best examples of French colonial buildings in America.

Jean-Baptiste Vallé – The Last Colonial Commandant

Jean-Baptiste Vallé ran Sainte Genevieve as its final Spanish commandant in 1804. He came from an important family, with his brother François serving in the same job before him.

When American officials arrived after the Louisiana Purchase, Vallé helped make the change smooth. He kept working under American authority for several months.

His impressive home, built in 1794 using logs on a stone foundation, served as both his house and government office. Later owners changed it from French colonial to American Georgian style.

The Beauvais-Amoureux House and Black History

Jean-Baptiste St. Gemme Beauvais built a modest home near the farming fields in 1792. The cedar logs went straight into the dirt with no foundation.

Sixty years later, Benjamin Amoureux and his wife Pélagie bought the house. Their story shows an important part of early African American history.

Pélagie was born enslaved in 1805 to a woman owned by the Beauvais family. After gaining freedom in 1832, she eventually returned with her husband to buy this house from her former owners, where their family lived for over 70 years.

From French to American After the Louisiana Purchase

American flags replaced Spanish ones as the land changed hands again in 1804. The Louisiana Purchase brought new government, laws, and many English-speaking settlers.

French families adjusted while keeping their culture. They learned English for business but spoke French at home. German immigrants arrived soon after, creating a diverse town.

The Felix Vallé House, built in 1818, shows this time of change. The brick building housed a successful trading company that connected French, American, and Native American business across the growing United States.

The Three Historic Roads That Connected a Wilderness

Early travelers cut paths through forests and prairies to link scattered settlements. The first, Three Notch Road, connected Sainte Genevieve to lead mines at Mine La Motte.

In 1779, Spanish officials built El Camino Real, or King’s Road, to join colonial outposts. Parts of this historic route still exist north of town as rural Kingshighway.

Most impressive was the 1852 Plank Road – wooden boards laid over mud to haul iron from mines near present-day Farmington.
At 42 miles, it was the longest wooden road in Missouri, vital for the area’s economy.

Visiting Sainte Genevieve

You’ll find Sainte Genevieve about 60 miles south of St. Louis along the Mississippi.

When you visit, start at the Welcome Center before exploring the National Historical Park. Don’t miss the three rare vertical-post buildings or the Felix Vallé State Historic Site.

You can walk the same streets laid out in the 1790s and see the old farm fields still visible outside town.
The ferry called “French Connection” can take you across the river to see related sites in Illinois.
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