Visitors Guide to Cape Girardeau County, Missouri

The Mississippi River has always played part in Cape Girardeau County’s history. Long before Europeans settled here, the area was home to many tribes of Native Americans, including the Ozark Bluff Dwellers and the Mississippian Tribe. The lush grasses, mild-to-moderate climate and easy river accessibility provided the perfect place to live. The region was claimed by France when Jacques “Pere” Marquette and Louis Joliet explored the Mississippi River in 1673. In the 1730s, a Frenchman named Jean Baptiste Girardot established a trading post at a rock promontory jutting from the west bank of the Mississippi River. This large promontory was referred to as “the cape” and was a significant headland projecting well into the river. In 1793, the Spanish government gave Frenchman Louis Lorimier a land grant, which included title to land throughout this region. He established a trading post near the river, just a few miles south of the site previously established by Girardot. Although the Lorimier was the founder of the settlement that would grow to become Cape Girardeau the names “the cape” and “Girardot” were already so widely associated with the area that attempts by Lorimier to name the settlement after himself failed.

On November 23, 1803 the Corps of Discovery Expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark arrived in Cape Girardeau. In his journal, Meriwether Lewis described in great detail the colorful residents of the Cape Girardeau community and his memorable visit with the Commandant Lorimier and his family at his home and trading post, called the “Red House.” This structure was located near the site now occupied by Old St. Vincent’s Church where it stood until 1850 when it was destroyed by a tornado. The Red House Interpretive Center, located along the riverfront in Cape Girardeau, was built for the Cape Girardeau Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Commemoration to commemorate the visit of Lewis and Clark. This replica of a French Colonial style home interprets the Discovery Expedition and life in colonial Cape Girardeau.

Cape Girardeau County was organized on October 1, 1812, as one of five original counties in the Missouri Territory. It was first thought that Cape Girardeau would be the county seat but because of legal concerns concerning the title to the land donated to the county after the Federal government rejected Louis Lorimiers’ Spanish land grants, commissioners chose not to build on the Cape Girardeau site. Instead they selected a county seat site in 1814 that was located on a broad low hill at an improved plantation that was served by a community post office, Jackson. 50 acres were purchased and a town was platted in 1815 and named for the post office, which honored Andrew Jackson, then a military hero of the War of 1812 who would later become the seventh President of the United States. Jackson has been the site of four county courthouses. The current courthouse is an Italian Renaissance building completed in 1908. Visitors can learn about Jackson’s history by visiting the 1847 Greek Revival Oliver House near the center of town. Just west of Jackson is Bollinger Mill State Historic Site. Bollinger Mill State Historic Site is unusual in that it features both a workable mill and a covered bridge, side by side. The site offers exhibits, picnic sites, and hiking trails. Just east of Jackson is the Old McKendree Chapel, a national Methodist shrine, was the second meeting house constructed by the Methodists in Missouri and is regarded as the oldest Protestant church structure standing west of the Mississippi River.

North of Cape Girardeau is Trail of Tears State Park. This park commemorates a tragic event in American history. In 1830, responding to intense pressure from settlers, President Andrew Jackson set a policy to relocate five tribes of southeastern Indians, including the Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole and Cherokee, to lands west in present-day Oklahoma. In the winter of 1838-1839 more than 16,000 were forced to move against their will. Many traveled by wagon, horseback or on foot on the 800 miles trek to the Indian Territory. Others traveled by boat along river routes. Most of the Cherokee detachments made their way through Cape Girardeau County where they spent the winter at the site of Trail of Tears State Park. While here, the Indians endured brutal conditions; they dealt with rain, snow, freezing cold, hunger and disease. Floating ice stopped the attempted Mississippi River crossing, so the detachments had to set up camps on both sides of the river. It is estimated that over 4,000 Cherokees lost their lives on the march, more than a fourth of the population. Trail of Tears State Park is a certified site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. The park’s visitor center features exhibits that interpret the forced relocation, as well as the park’s many natural features.

At the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1803, Cape Girardeau boasted a population of 1,111. Early in 1806, the town of Cape Girardeau was laid out in lots. A petition for incorporation was presented in 1808. Growth at first was slow. However, the age of the steamboats allowed easy movement of manufactured goods on the river, which expedited growth. Shops were opened and hotels went up along the river. Cape Girardeau moved from being a village to a city. When the railroads were completed, it is said that the city’s population doubled in just a few months. Cape Girardeau was one of the most fortified cities in the United States during the Civil War. Because it was the first high ground north of the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers it provided a strategic position from which to fire on approaching Confederate gunboats. The Civil War Battle of Cape Girardeau took place April 26, 1863. The Union and Confederate armies collided in a fierce, four-hour artillery barrage on this day in which 23 Union and 30 Confederate soldiers were killed. All that remains of Cape Girardeau’s fort system is Fort D which has self-guided tours and is the site of reenactments throughout the year.

Cape Girardeau has more than a day’s worth of attractions to see. Historical museums include the Glenn House, the River Heritage Museum, and the Red House Interpretive Center. Historical sites include the Common Pleas Courthouse and Fort D. For nature lovers a visit to the Cape Girardeau is a treat as is the Capaha Park Rose Garden. Art lovers can visit the Crisp Museum on the River Campus of Southeast Missouri State University. Numerous murals commemorate the city's history. The largest and perhaps most dramatic is the Mississippi River Tales Mural, located on the city's downtown floodwall. Covering nearly 18,000 square feet, it spans the length of the downtown shopping district and features 24 panels. Behind the floodwall lies the Riverfront Park where riverboats dock and visitors can view the Mississippi River.

Whether hiking through a state park, enjoying a cultural activity, walking across a covered bridge, shopping for antiques, visiting an area winery, viewing murals that stretch the entire length of the downtown area or stepping back in time at any number of historic attractions, you’ll experience the beauty, culture and charm that are unique to Cape Girardeau County. As the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau says - Cape Girardeau County is where the river turns a thousand tales.

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