Sainte Genevieve Travel Guide

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The Mississippi is a big river in this area, and there are limited bridges. Ferries are an optional alternative. There are six ferries in this area of the Mississippi, and the Ste. Genevieve-Modoc Ferry is one of them. Follow N. Main Street about 1 1/2 miles from the Historic District of Ste. Genevieve to the Little Rock Landing on the Mississippi River. The Modoc Landing is accessible from IL-3 and IL-155 in Randolph County on the Illinois side. The ferry runs during daylight hours approximately every fifteen minutes and a fee is charged. Last I looked it was $20 round-trip per vehicle (passengers included in the price)

Note: ferries might not be operating due to flood conditions or ice. Call to check

Although this is a car ferry, I couldn't get Bob to try it. We used a bridge

The other ferries are Calhoun County, IL; Canton, MO, Grafton, IL and Dorena,Missouri to Hickman,Kentucky

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St. Genevieve, a National Historical Landmark, was recently included as one of the 11 most endangered places in the nation by the National Trust for Historic Preservation because of the flood danger.

The original Ste. Genevieve was the first European settlement in what is now Missouri.

Located on the riverbank south of the present site, the town was wiped out in the spring of 1785 when the Mississippi burst its banks in a terrible flood. Still known as L'anne des grandes eaux (the year of the great waters), the 1785 flood inundated the village to its rooftops. Villagers began moving two miles north to Nouvelle Ste. Genevieve (or Les petites cotes, "the little hills,").

However it is not yet out of danger. These poles by the stream have high water marks on them up to 49.7 feet which was in 1993

There's even been a song written about it.

(Jay Farrar)

The song "Tear Stained Eye," deals with the 1993 flood. St. Genevieve, on the
Mississippi about 70 miles south of St. Louis, is a French settlement that dates
from the early 1700's. It's oldest homes are of significant historical importance
as they are built with the wood/logs that make up the walls sitting vertically.
It is the largest collection of such buildings in the U.S. Most of the town survived
the 1993 flood.

CHORUS:

Can you deny there's nothing greater
Nothing more than the traveling hands of time
St. Genevieve can hold back the water
But saints don't bother with a tear-stained eye



St. Genevieve cannot afford to pay the 25% of the cost for the Corps of Engineers to build a levee to protect the town.

If you are into history, families, and geneology as I am and Jill even moreso, then you would enjoy going to visit the Ste. Genevieve Historic Memorial Cemetery.

It dates from the 1780's, and most of the founders of Ste. Genevieve are buried here.

It's always interesting, I think, to examine the styles of gravestones, the amount of information carved into the headstone, and to imagine what the lives of the people were like.

West of FifthStreet between Mefferson and Merchant streets.