All Places

Celebrates 300 years of French culture and traditions! Experience living history, live traditional music and more! The Second Saturday in June “Hence I have heard the guitar resound soon after sunset, with the complaints and amorous tales of the village swains, and heard the same hand, which toiled all day in the wilderness and in the waste, strike the tender notes of love in the evening. The custom seemed to pervade all ranks. Nearly every house had its group, and every group its guitar, fiddler, storyteller, or singer. As the evening advanced and the beat diminished, walking commenced, and towards midnight the music of the village united, the little world crowded to the spot and danced with infinite gaiety and mirth till past one in the morning. The Waltz had most votaries; the Pas de deux next, and the Fandango was the favorite of the few remaining Spaniards of the village.” -Thomas Ashe on dancing in Ste. Genevieve   The French Heritage Festival is hosted by the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve and plays a major part in our Frontier French Calendar of Events. It’s a time for us once again to dress as our French ancestors, and carry Read more…

Green Tree Tavern Standing across from the famed locus of Jour de Fête in downtown Sainte Geneviève, the Green Tree Tavern is Missouri’s oldest verified building—scientifically dated to 1790 through dendrochronology—and far more than historic architecture. This French colonial structure represents a living chronicle of American frontier life, cultural convergence, and the diverse, often uncomfortable truths that shaped westward expansion. Built by Nicolas Janis, a French Canadian immigrant from Kaskaskia, Illinois, using vertical log construction (poteau sur sole), the building has served as family home, gathering place, inn, tobacco shop, and meeting hall for the first Masonic Lodge west of the Mississippi River. Now part of Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park, Green Tree Tavern offers visitors a tangible connection to the complex, layered history of America’s heartland. Free guided tours are available through the Welcome Center, where rangers share stories of the people who lived and worked within these walls—including those who were enslaved and whose resilience and determination deserve equal prominence in the building’s history. 1790: The Oldest Standing Building in Missouri The scientific dating matters. Using dendrochronology—analyzing tree rings to establish precise construction dates—researchers confirmed Green Tree Tavern’s 1790 construction with certainty other historic buildings can rarely achieve. Read more…

Guibourd-Vallé House – Where You Can Touch History’s Framework In a town filled with exceptional French Creole architecture, the Guibourd-Vallé House claims a unique distinction: this is the only place in Ste. Genevieve where visitors can climb into the attic and actually touch the massive Norman truss system—those impressive hewn log beams and wooden pins that have held up the roof for more than two centuries. This rare access transforms what could be merely observational history into something tactile and immediate, allowing you to literally lay hands on the engineering genius of early 19th-century French colonial builders. Tour Schedule and Practical Information Regular Season (April through early December): Tours available at 9:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Call in advance to book Closed Easter and Thanksgiving Other times available with advance notice Winter Months: Tours by prior arrangement only Call (573) 883-9622 to schedule Two days’ notice appreciated Admission: Adults: $10 Students: $5 Group and family rates available—inquire when scheduling A House with Distinguished Origins Constructed in 1806 for Jacques Jean Rene Guibourd de Luzinais, the house carries a name that signals its owner’s elite status within French colonial society. His full, formal French name speaks to European aristocratic traditions and Read more…

The Linden House Every Saturday from late March through early November, the Linden House opens its doors to something increasingly rare: the chance to step into French Creole colonial life not as passive observer behind velvet ropes, but as active participant in a breathing, tactile past. This isn’t history performed at you but rather history invited into your hands, your curiosity, your willingness to touch what earlier generations touched and understand through your own senses how people actually lived, worked, and entertained themselves in early 19th-century Ste. Genevieve. Architecture That Remembers Adaptation The Linden House itself embodies layered time. Built in stages from 1811/1812 through the 1930s, the structure reveals how families adapted their homes across generations—responding to changing needs, shifting prosperity, evolving architectural fashions. The earliest portions date to just after the Louisiana Purchase, when French Creole families navigated the delicate transition from Spanish and French rule to American governance. Later additions show the 19th century’s progressive transformations, eventually extending into the 20th. Within a single structure, different eras coexist: not frozen at one moment but rather representing the continuity of domestic life across time, families making do, expanding, reimagining their spaces as circumstances demanded. Three Spaces, Three Windows Read more…

Main Street Inn Bed & Breakfast – Where Art, History, and Vision Transform Hospitality in Sainte Geneviève Step through the doors of the Main Street Inn Bed & Breakfast and you immediately understand that your time here will be a curate experience. Originally built in 1882 as the Meyer Hotel, this three-story brick landmark has welcomed travelers to Sainte Geneviève for more than 140 years. But following an extensive year-long renovation, proprietors Susan O’Donnell and Patrick Fahey transformed this historic property into something extraordinary: a bed and breakfast where world-class art, meticulous attention to preservation, and genuine hospitality create an experience that aligns with what you’d expect in Missouri’s oldest city. The Main Street Inn stands as home, gallery and gathering place, historic structure and comfortable retreat. Here, you’re encourage to meander through the house and take inspiration in the work that went into its restoration and the nuance of its collection.  For those visitors that are looking to bring home fresh inspiration to their design sensibilities, this is the stay for you. This is lodging for people who appreciate art, value history, and seek accommodations with personality and purpose rather than generic hotel uniformity. An Unexpected Gallery in Missouri’s Read more…