Total Solar Eclipse

2024 Total Eclipse events

April 8, 2024, 1:58p to 2:01p.

Come to Ste. Genevieve and see the 2024 solar eclipse. That Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park will have viewing activities that day and you’re invited to come and watch this amazing natural spectacle. And there is lots of viewing space at the Ste. Genevieve County Community Center.

Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park, 573-883-7189

School Tours

Schools

To help organize your school tour we have a listing of the places to visit and where to have a sack lunch. All of the groups want your visit to be enjoyable so we encourage you to contact these folks ahead of time so they can plan for your students and provide the best experience.

Contact List for School Tours

Centre for French Colonial LifeBolduc House/LeMeilleur Home, Linden House – Roseanne (573) 883-3105

Ste. Genevieve National Historical ParkBeauvais-Amoreaux House, Green Tree Tavern, Jean Baptist Valle Househttps://www.nps.gov/stge/planyourvisit/permitsandreservations.htm

State of MissouriFelix Valle State Historic Site – Lauren Miller (573) 883-7102

Foundation for RestorationGuibourd-Valle House – Skip Weiler [email protected]

Catholic Church – open for self-guided tours

Museum Learning CenterMissouri Dinosaur and Ste. Genevieve History – Abigail Kern (573)-883-3466

Sack Lunch at Lions Park[email protected]

Travel Planners Radio Show

People

Sue & Kevin McCarthy host the weekly Travel Planners Radio Show and they descended on Ste. Genevieve and took in the historic downtown, great food, some guided tours and had a chance to talk to the folks who make Ste. Genevieve a destination. Check out their website at http://www.kevinandsuetravel.com/index.htm to find out more.

Kevin & Sue talk to David Newmann of the National Park Service Ste. Genevieve Historical Park
Kevin & Sue talk to Geoff Giglierano with the Centre for French Colonial Life
Kevin and Sue talk to Guy Darrough about the Missouri Dinosaur
Kevin & Sue talk to Kara Burt with Audubon Hotel and Restuarant
Kevin & Sue talk to Hank Johnson about the Bequette Ribault House/Chaumette Winery
Kevin & Sue talk to the City Administrator about Ste. Genevieve

Junior Ranger Makes Ste. Geneviève Her 345th National Park Stop

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Aida Frey showed off some of the Junior Ranger badges she has obtained during trips to 345 national parks as of December 29, when she stopped in Ste. Geneviève.

Aida Frey from the Chicago area visited Ste. Geneviève on December 29, 2020, making her 345th stop at a national park.

Frey is a participant in and a proponent of the NPS Junior Ranger program. Her business card calls her the “Sweetheart of the National Parks.” She posts about her travels on Facebook (Junior Ranger Aida Frey), Twitter (@jrranger) and Instagram (@juniorrangeraida). She also has a written a book, “America, Can I Have Your Autograph?”

Frey and her family stopped through Ste. Geneviève during a trip that also included three national trip stops in Texas — Big Bend National Park, Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River, and Fort Davis National Historic Site.

The Ste. Geneviève National Historical Park was established as the 422nd unit of the National Park Service on October 30, 2020. There now are 423 national park units.

Senator Roy Blunt Speaks At NPS Establishment Ceremony

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U.S. Senator Roy Blunt spoke before a large crowd to mark the establishment of the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park in October of 2020.

Representatives of the National Park Service, the city of Ste. Genevieve and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources joined U.S. Senator Roy Blunt and State Representative Dale Wright in participating in the event on the porch of the Jean-Baptiste Valle House, which serves as the headquarters for the park.

A new sign for the Welcome Center was unveiled as well.

Watch the ceremony as taped by Ste. Genevieve Community Access Television by clicking here.

Ste. Genevieve On List Of Best Small Towns In Every State

The website Tripsavvy.com says: “The heart of many states exists in the small towns, where you’ll find industrious locals, unique experiences, and a slower pace that makes breathing a little easier. … Often the doorway to nature and outdoor adventures, these villages are ideal for the great American road trip or for delving deeper into a weekend getaway with friends or family.”
For more check out the article.

Missouri Staycation: Ste. Genevieve County

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Town&Style

When was the last time you saw a sky completely full of twinkling stars? Or heard cows lowing outside your bedroom window? Or tasted grapes fresh off the vine? If, like me, the answer is ‘never,’ shame on us. Especially since a short hour’s drive can put us smack dab in the middle of some of the prettiest countryside in the U.S.

Ste. Genevieve County, just 60 miles from home, combines natural beauty with more worldly attractions (about a dozen wineries and a French Canadian settlement dating to the 1740s) to offer a weekend getaway that will make you feel like you’ve been away much longer.

Our immediate destination was Chaumette Vineyards & Winery on State Rte. WW, a popular destination among St. Louisans who have likened it to French wine country. The changing fall colors, a quiet cozy retreat and a gourmet restaurant—that was enough for an overnight escape. Anything else would just be a bonus, I thought.

Turns out we got all that and then some. Chaumette proved to be an idyllic setting, with rolling hills all around. Its ‘villas,’ attractive suites built up on wooden piers to replicate the French architectural style found in historic Ste. Genevieve nearby, had wraparound wooden porches with views of the endless rows of grapevines. Inside, we lacked for nothing, from a walk-in closet to Kaldi’s coffee.[toggle]

A hike around the property took us past the large dining room and tasting room building, set high on a hill for optimum views of the rows of Chardonel, Norton and Vignoles vines, as well as nearby cow pastures. Past that, a small chapel nestled in the woods, ready for couples who want a country wedding (of which, apparently, there are many). Intending to do the entire 3-mile loop around Chaumette, we disappeared into the woods down a gravel path, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

About half a mile in, we came upon an adjacent winery/brewery, Charleville, known for its Hoptimistic IPA. Turns out we zigged when we were supposed to zag, or something like that. But we were on country time, and decided to just go with the flow—Charleville, it is. On a much smaller scale than Chaumette, it was built in the same year, 2013, and we sidled up to the thick wooden bar for a Strawberry Pale Ale, $1.80 a taste, $5 for a flight of five.

Back at Chaumette, it was time for one of the weekend’s highlights: dinner at Grapevine Grill, where CIA-trained chef Rob Beasley has gotten some buzz as far away as St. Louis. A native of Louisiana, he infuses the menu with Creole-Cajun flavors; do not miss the Louisiana Shrimp, whatever you do. The flourless chocolate cake, drizzled with port and caramel sauce and plump cherries, should be on your dessert radar, too. We walked the third of a mile or so from our villa to the dining room in the dark, hoping the enormous sea of stars would light our way. Alas, it’s pitch dark out there, even with starlight, so bring a flashlight.

Day two had its own agenda, with plans for some serious hiking in the gorgeous environs, followed by exploration of historic Ste. Genevieve until the homes closed or we dropped of exhaustion, whichever came first. The hike, a 1.5-mile loop around Pickle Springs Natural Area, was breathtaking, with water features, massive boulders called hoodoos and deep stone set-backs the park map dubbed ‘canyons.’ Bring hiking boots! It is as pretty a sight as I’ve seen, but with its own Midwestern forest character of lush woods and trickling water.

Be sure to give yourself enough time for the county’s jewel in the crown: historic Ste. Genevieve. Main, Market and Merchant streets have the lion’s share of tourable properties, but homes all around town proudly display wooden plaques with the date of their founding and the name of their original family. You’ll see many in the 1700s and 1800s, several of them open for touring (not necessarily every day, however): the Louis Bolduc, Felix Valle, Jacques Guibourd, Jean-Baptiste Valle, Bequette- Ribault and Bauvais-Amoureux homes. They’re French in origin, mostly built by French Canadians who traveled south down the Mississippi to escape persecution by the British or to seek better commercial opportunities.

As a living record of Missouri’s French colonial history, the town of Ste. Genevieve is a National Historic Landmark. It originated as a French colonial settlement, and in 1803 was sold to the fledgling United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Most homes built during the French colonial period, including many that visitors can tour, were constructed in a distinctive style typical of French Canada called vertical-log. The wooden beams are lined up vertically, unlike the horizontally stacked logs of the typical log cabin. Interestingly, Ste. Genevieve has the largest number of these vertical log homes in the U.S. And, it has three of the remaining five poteaux-en-terre homes in the entire country, structures that are supported by wooden columns anchored directly in the dirt. Also noteworthy: it is thought that the oldest rose garden in Missouri is here, behind the Jean-Baptiste Valle House (circa 1794).

Apparently the rose cuttings came from none other than Madame Therese Chouteau, considered the matriarch of St. Louis.

townandstyle.com

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50 Most Beautiful Small Towns in America

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House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping and Country Living

We’ve rounded up the cutest village in every single state. Ste. Genevieve, MO, ranks number 25 in our list of the 50 most beautiful small towns in America!

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Good Housekeeping