Columbia, MO to Memphis, TN (I-70 west to suburban St. Louis, MO; I-64 southeast around the metro area; I-55 south to Memphis)
The drive from Columbia to Memphis is interstate all the way but, again, it’s the side trips that provide all the excitement. I do have to say that the lowest gas prices so far are in suburban St. Louis at $1.72 per gallon. That makes me very happy, especially since I am real lucky if I get 9 miles per gallon! In any case, southeast of St. Louis I hit the Mississippi River for the first time and take two side trips before getting to Memphis, Ste. Genevieve and Cape Girardeau.
Ste. Genevieve, Mo
Ste. Genevieve is the oldest town in Missouri, having been founded in the late 1730’s by French Canadians who farmed, trapped for furs, mined lead and produced salt for trade. The Mississippi is a wild and volatile river that flooded frequently and changed channels so the present town is inland from the current river channel. France ceded all holdings west of the Mississippi to Spain in 1762 but the French influence remained strong in the local customs. France regained control of the area in 1800 and then sold it to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The center of commerce shifted north to St. Louis and time began to pass Ste. Genevieve by. Today the historical downtown area is a National Historic District and has many buildings dating over 200 years old lining the narrow streets. The local economy is based upon tourism and it is a favorite weekend spot for people from nearby St. Louis who support the local restaurants, shops, and art galleries as well as the surrounding wine country. Modern development centers on the interstate, leaving the old town virtually intact. Let’s walk around Ste. Genevieve.
The Bolduc House (left) was built in 1792; the Felix Valle House (right)in 1818. Felix Valle was one of the richest men in Ste. Genevieve in his time and owned the local ironworks. Upon his death, his wife donated the funds to build the Catholic Church whose spire dominates the town skyline.
Jean Baptiste Valle built this house in 1794. It served as the center of government after Jean Baptiste was appointed commandant of the Ste. Genevieve district by the Americans shortly after the Louisiana Purchase.
The Vital St. Gemme Beauvais House (left) was built in 1792. It is one of five remaining homes in the United States left that were built using a design called Poteaux-en-terre (posts in ground). The house on the right was built by Antoine Parfait Dumour in 1790 out of local yellow granite. It was later used as a bank.
The Old Brick House (left) was built in 1804 by John Price and over the years served as a home, courthouse, school and now a restaurant. The Marie LaPorte home (right) was built in 1790.
Towering over the town and local countryside is the Catholic Church of Ste. Genevieve. First established in 1759, the current church dates from the 1876.
As you can tell, the weather is continuing to cooperate as I saunter my way south. Hope it lasts! Sixty miles down I-55 is my next side trip 8 miles off the interstate on the banks of the Mississippi, Cape Girardeau.
Cape Girardeau. MO
Cape Girardeau is named after Jean Baptiste de Girardot, who founded a trading post at the base of a strategic rock outcropping on the west side of the Mississippi River in 1733. The area became known as Cape Girardot (later spelled Girardeau) and the actual town was founded in 1808. During the first half of the 1800’s Cape Girardeau was the largest Mississippi River Port between Memphis, TN, and St. Louis. Today it is a town of over 35,000 people, most of which is physically safely away from potential floods on a bench well above the lower old town area along the river. The old town in general looks a bit run-down and the streetscape is a mix of restoration and deterioration along Main Street.
Standing by the clock tower in the center of the old town area, west up the bluff is the historic courthouse, completed in 1854.
Turning 180 degrees and looking east, I see the Mississippi River through one of the two gates in the flood wall that runs for a couple of miles between the town and the river. Note the markers on the left side denoting how high the water came during various floods in the past.
At first it seemed to me that openings in the wall kind of defeats the purpose as I walked through to the river bank and looked north east up river. This is the storied Mississippi River.
Then I turned around and looked back. There I saw the massive steel gates that close during time of need, ensuring that the flood wall does its job.
Undoubtedly trying to make the best of things, the town side of the flood wall is decorated with murals for most of its length. The north half (left) celebrates the history of Cape Girardeau, the south half (right) celebrates famous Missourians, .
One of the more interesting historical vignettes documents an incident during the Civil War. Cape Girardeau was occupied by the Union during the Civil War and the mural depicts an argument that occurred when Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant and Brigadier General Benjamin Prentiss both reached Cape Girardeau on the same day with identical orders to take command. A shouting match occurred and we know who won (never heard of a “President Prentiss”, have you?). Grant won the argument, went on to take Vicksburg and later became President of the United States.
Just south of the old town area rise the bluffs that give the area its’ name. Standing in a park at the top of one of them, I first look north up the Mississippi and then south down to Cape Girardeau.
Leaving Cape Girardeau I continue to head south on I-55 to Memphis. The rolling hills of central Missouri fade away to the west and the land flattens as we cut across the northeastern corner of Arkansas. Cotton fields ready for harvest stretch on both sides of the highway.
Clearly intensively farmed, a sight familiar to Oregonians looms to the west. Field burning is alive and well in the mid-South!
Next up: Memphis
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