About 620 miles north of New Orleans and 62 miles south of St. Louis, sits the town of Ste. GeneviƩve, Missouri.
Established in 1750 by the French, Ste. GeneviƩve reveals much about what it was like to establish a colony in the heartland of North America and what it was like for colonists to live so far removed from seats of imperial power.
Claire Casey, a National Park Service interpretative ranger at the Ste. GeneviƩve National Historical Park, joins us to explore the early American history of Ste. GeneviƩve.
This episode is supported by an American Rescue Plan grant to the Omohundro Institute from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
About the Show
Ben Franklinās World is a podcast about early American history.
It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.
Ben Franklinās World is a production of the Omohundro Institute.
Episode Summary
Claire Casey, a National Park Service interpretative ranger at the Ste. GeneviƩve National Historical Park, joins us to explore the early American history of Ste. GeneviƩve, Missouri.
During our exploration, Claire reveals information about the Ste. GeneviƩve National Historical Park and how Ste. GeneviƩve became a National Park Service site. Details about early American life in Ste. GeneviƩve and why the French established this frontier settlment. And, how and why Ste. GeneviƩve changed imperial hands three times between France, Spain, and the United States.
What Youāll Discover
- Ste. GeneviÄve National Historical Park
- How historic places become National Historical Parks
- Historic sites within the Ste. GeneviÄve National Historical Park
- Interpreting the historic sites of Ste. GeneviÄve
- Work of National Park Service interpretive rangers
- Native American history of Ste. GeneviÄve Site
- Why the French settled in Missouri
- How Ste. GeneviƩve connected with the French colonial world
- Life in colonial Ste. GeneviƩve
- Trade between colonial Ste. GeneviƩve and Osage communities
- Slavery in colonial Ste. GeneviƩve
- Life for the enslaved in colonial Ste. GeneviƩve
- Code Noir in Ste. GeneviƩve
- The Seven Yearsā War and Ste. GeneviĆ©ve
- The transition from French to Spanish territory
- The American Revolution and Ste. GeneviƩve
- Imperial life of Ste. GeneviƩve
- The Flood of 1785
- Rebuilding Ste. GeneviƩve
- The Louisiana Purchase and American governance
- The U.S. presence in Ste. GeneviƩve
Links to People, Places, and Publications
Sponsor Links
- Omohundro Institute
- Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
- Robert Parkinson,Ā Thirteen Clocks
- Schwab Starter Kit and $50Ā
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Complementary Episodes
Episode 102: William Nester, George Rogers Clark and the Fight for the Illinois Country
Episode 108: Ann Little, The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright
Episode 120: Marcia Zug, Mail Order Brides in Early America
Episode 139: AndrƩs ResƩndez, The Other Slavery
Episode 308: Jessica Marie Johnson, Slavery and Freedom in French LouisianaāØ
Time Warp Question
In your opinion, what might have happened if Ste. GeneviÄve had remained entirely under French governance until 1804? How might the life and culture of the Ste. GeneviÄve community have been different?
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