All Arts and History

Ste. Geneviève Welcome Center 66 South Main Street Ste. Geneviève, MO 63670 Call us at 573-883-7097 or 800-373-7007 For several summers in the 1930s, an Art Colony located in Ste. Geneviève conducted a Summer School of Art. Instead of painting rolling hills or flowers, the artists portrayed the human condition and Depression-era events. Information about the school and some of its creations are on display at the Ste. Geneviève Welcome Center. Gravediggers, portraits, and lime kiln workers are depicted. The Summer School instructors include Thomas Hart Benton, Fred E. Conway, Joseph James Jones, Miriam McKinnie, Joseph John Paul Meert, Jesse Beard Rickly, Aimee Goldstone Schweig, Martyl Schweig, E. Oscar Thalinger, Joseph Paul Vorst, and Matthew E. Ziegler. Another display of Art Colony works can be viewed in the stone building behind the Shaw house. Read more…

49 DuBourg Place Ste. Geneviève, MO 63670 573-883-2731 Website The current, brick Ste. Geneviève Catholic Church is the third Catholic church erected on this block. As Ste. Geneviève was moved to higher ground due to flooding, the original log church was moved here in 1794. A stone structure replacing the log building was consecrated in 1837. As the congregation grew a larger church was required, and a brick building was constructed around the stone one. The stone church continued to be used until the new church was completed in 1880. Then the remaining old stones were removed out the doors. In 1911 this church was expanded again with the addition of the altar apse and the two side transepts. Come inside to admire the stain-glass windows and marble adornments! Read more…

5th & Merchant Streets Ste. Geneviève, MO 63670 573-883-7544 Open Daily until Dusk Memorial Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 3,500 people, perhaps up to 5,000. Most grave markers were wooden crosses that have rotted away leaving most graves unmarked. The oldest grave is of Louis Le Clere and is dated 1796. The newest interment, or reinterment, is dated 15 years after the cemetery was officially closed in 1882. Dr. Lewis Linn was first buried in1843 in Memorial Cemetery, but he did not rest in peace. Because the cemetery had become quite weedy and overgrown, the “model senator” was moved nearby to the new Valle Springs Cemetery. After Memorial Cemetery was cleaned up, in 1938 Senator Linn was buried for the third time. His almost 100-year-old corpse was remarkably preserved in his air-tight, lead-lined coffin, and people lined up to view his face through the window in the lid. Another burial after the official closure of the cemetery was for Odile Vallé. She wished to be buried with her prominent husband, Felix Valle. In exchange, she donated land for the new cemetery and an enormous sum for the construction of the new brick Catholic Church. Other notables Read more…

History comes alive in Ste. Geneviève with the annual Encampment, an 18th-century re-enactment event. The Encampment is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Center for French Colonial Life. The living history camp will include children’s games, colonial skills demonstrations and colonial crafts and trades such as gun building, chair seat weaving, spinning, leatherwork, and more. The event is free and is children- and family-friendly. The Encampment is sponsored by the Ste. Geneviève Militia, Inc, a member of Seven Years’ War, Inc., with support provided by the Ste. Geneviève County Community Foundation and the Ste. Geneviève Welcome Center. For information, contact Doug Nickelson at dnickelson78@yahoo.com. Read more…

Muny Band Concerts – A Romantic Small-Town Tradition There’s something undeniably romantic about a municipal band concert on a warm summer evening—and we don’t just mean romantic in the dating sense, though that applies too. We mean romantic in the larger, more encompassing way: the kind of experience that makes you feel connected to something timeless, that slows down the frantic pace of modern life, and that reminds you why small-town America still holds such appeal for those lucky enough to experience it. Long-time Ste. Genevieve resident Bill Naeger captured this beautifully in the Missouri Humanities Small-Town Showcase podcast when he reflected on what the Muny Band concerts mean to the community. He spoke of the romance they add to the town—the simple, profound pleasure of being able to pull your car up to the schoolyard where the band performs and just sit and listen. It’s a treat, he explained, that you don’t find many other places anymore. And he’s absolutely right. A Tradition More Than 70 Years Strong The Ste. Genevieve Municipal Band has been performing for over 70 years, making it one of the few municipal bands still actively performing in America. What was once a common feature Read more…