St. Genevieve

July 19, 1820

Five miles along the Missouri shore consists of the great public field of St. Genevieve.  This field is a monument of early French Policy in the days of Indian supremacy, when the agricultural population of a village was brought to labor in proximity, so that any sudden and capricious attack of the natives could be effectively repelled.  We landed at the mouth of the Gabarie, a small stream which passes through the town.  St. Genevieve lies on higher ground, above the reach of the inundations, about a mile west of landing.  It consists of some three hundred wooden houses, including several stores, a post office, court-house, Roman Catholic church, and a branch office Missouri Bank, having a capital of fifty thousand dollars.  The town is one of the principal markets and places of shipment for the Missouri lead-mine.  The style of the building reminds one of the ancient Belgic and Dutch settlements on the banks of the Hudson and Mohawk - high-pointed roofs to low one story buildings, and large stone chimneys out-doors.  The streets are narrow, and the whole village is compact as if built to sustain a siege.

As written in:

Scenes and adventures in the semi-alpine region of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas

by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft     First published in 1846 from journels written in 1920

He made note of meeting some of our relations (Solomon Yocum, his son & brother) during this trip, and was in St.Genevieve while Joseph Philibert II was still living there.

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