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Local History

Cape nominates new downtown historic district (05/02/07)
Cape Girardeau has proposed creating a new historic district along Broadway and Middle Street to be added to the National Registry of Historic Places. Preservationists also propose adding a building to an already existing historic district on Main Street...

Old Town Cape presents awards at its annual dinner (02/28/07)
Robert and Kaye Hamblin received the first-ever Judith Ann Crow Residential Historic Preservation Award Tuesday night at Old Town Cape's annual awards dinner. The house the Hamlins restored at 313 Themis St. is next door to the 18th-century house where Crow, the late Southeast Missourian librarian and promoter of historic preservation, lived for many years...

Byrd House, Farrar store closer to historic status (02/19/07)
When built in 1827, the two-story Abraham Byrd house was a symbol of success in rural Cape Girardeau County. Byrd was an early pioneer and a prominent farmer. He served as a state representative and a presidential elector in the mid-1800s. The Byrd house, which still stands on County Road 442, is well on the way to a spot on the National Register of Historic Places...

Access allowed: Court rules for Bollinger Co. cemetery group in dispute with landowner (01/12/07)
GRASSY, Mo. -- Sixteen Civil War veterans rest for all time in the Lower Grassy Creek Cemetery in western Bollinger County, their graves neatly tended along with those of relatives and others who include some of the earliest settlers of the region. Above those veterans, another battle raged recently that pitted those who keep their graves against a family determined to gain full control over their property by stopping use of a road over their land. ...

Trail of Tears commemoration to highlight crossing of the river (11/27/06)
This weekend, area residents are invited to remember one of the shameful moments of American history with a commemorative walk at Trail of Tears State Park in Cape Girardeau County. The event, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, will take place from 4 to 5 p.m. ...

Art of the New Deal (11/22/06)
When Ellen Ryan walks into a post office these days, she's not looking to buy stamps or mail a letter. She's looking for artwork. The Southeast Missouri State University graduate student in history received two grants totaling $1,500 over the past two years from the State Historical Society of Missouri to document murals and sculptures that were created and installed in 33 post offices in Missouri in the 1930s and early 1940s...

An eyesore no more (11/16/06)
ANNA, Ill. -- Five years ago, the roof on St. Anne's Episcopal Church was in danger of collapsing. Water leaked through holes in the roof and destroyed the hardwood floor in the one-room church. Raccoons and squirrels made their home in St. Anne's...

Volunteers are restoring Old Bethel Church (10/23/06)
Thursday was cloudy and cold, with rain falling continually. But the elements didn't put a damper on work being done on a gravel road near Goose Creek just outside Jackson. This day wasn't going to stop volunteers from rebuilding Old Bethel Baptist Church...

Brews and busts (10/21/06)
The smell gave them away. The scent of more than 5,000 gallons of beer is hard to miss. And in May 1932, the odor of fermenting mash was not one you wanted associated with your business. n In the early 20th century, Anheuser-Busch wasn't the king of beers in Southeast Missouri...

Graves of Col. George Thilenius and family get stone markers (10/09/06)
A prominent figure of Cape Girardeau history, Col. George C. Thilenius, who was born in 1829 and died in 1910, was buried in the Old Lorimier Cemetery in Cape Girardeau. Recently, his grave and those of his wife, Margarethe, and daughter, Emma, were given grave markers...

German couple researches family history in Cape (10/08/06)
A couple from Germany spent Saturday in Cape Girardeau searching for family ties. Johannes and Gail Bruening Kraemer began at Hanover Lutheran Church's parking lot, then went to visit the graves of their ancestors and concluded at the Cape Girardeau Public Library for an exchange of information with Bruening family members...

When Cape County reached to Kansas (10/03/06)
The territory of Cape Girardeau County is just a fraction of what it was when the county was formed in 1812. Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones wants it all back. With a sly look in his eye and a top hat on his head, Jones on Monday presided over a commemoration of the county's founding by reading the list of 27 counties that were formed out of the original Cape Girardeau County...

Query leads to commemoration of Cape Girardeau County's founding (10/02/06)
Sometimes a simple question can launch some unexpected actions. In June, Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones received a message from his counterpart in Daviess County, who wanted to know how to get into the cornerstone of his courthouse...

New book discusses Ste. Genevieve's multicultural history (10/01/06)
For almost 10 years, professor Bonnie Stepenoff of Southeast Missouri State University has led students to historic Ste. Genevieve for field research. They've done notable excavation on the Dellasus-Kern house and examined records of the town's free black population before the Civil War...

Restoring respect at Old Lorimier Cemetery (09/30/06)
Those accustomed to the grimy, green headstones at Old Lorimier Cemetery in Cape Girardeau better take one last look. Enthusiastic preservationists are blasting the mold and filling the cracks to restore these relics. About 50 people were on hand Friday for the first of a two-day preservation workshop. Funded with a $5,500 state grant from the Department of Natural Resources, the workshop is designed to give amateurs the tools needed to restore cemeteries...

A boost from the past (09/14/06)
Sometimes looking back has a purpose. "Looking back helps push us forward," said the Rev. Jeff Long, pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church. The congregation will celebrate its centennial over the next few weeks, beginning Sunday with a historical re-enactment at the Old McKendree Chapel in Jackson, where Methodism took root in America...

100-year-old home added to national register (08/05/06)
COMMERCE, Mo. -- A century-old home in this Scott County town was one of six Missouri properties recently added to the National Register of Historic Places. "From when first moved in, we knew there was a lot of historical significance to it," Susan Bailey said...

Park Service curation facility tells Ozarks story (07/31/06)
VAN BUREN, Mo. -- Some might call it a Supercenter for historical and natural artifacts. The Cultural Resources Curation Facility is probably the only place in Southeast Missouri where a person can hear the story of D-Day from a soldier who lived through it, see a replica of a 1930s moonshine camp and read original documents signed by Lyndon B. Johnson establishing the Ozark National Scenic Riverways...

Cape Girardeau County Archive Center presents evolution of the marriage license (07/13/06)
Almost two centuries of marriage licenses are displayed at the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center in Jackson. The exhibit starts with the Aug. 13, 1807, marriage of Benjamin Shell and Elizabeth Bollinger and continues to 2005. Examination of the marriage licenses reveals careful attempts at saving time and energy at a time when technology was limited...

'Louis Lorimier' book signing held at Red House (07/09/06)
Nearly 30 years after her book came out, Jane Cooper Stacy signed copies of it at the Red House Interpretive Center on Saturday. The Cape Girardeau resident's 46-page paperbound story titled "Louis Lorimier" served as a promotion for the old Cape River Heritage Museum, where Jeremiah's now is. The book was sold at the museum as a way to keep it operating...

House in a box (07/09/06)
The home is simple of style and sturdy of appearance. Nothing much stands out about the dwelling on North Middle Street in Cape Girardeau. But to the trained eye the telltale details jump out. The four-sided gambrel roof, the original wood siding, the door knob and hinges that look as if they belong on a doll-house. The pieces are all prefabricated, but the prefab is from a distant era...

Demand for timber spurred rail growth (07/02/06)
Railroads were a driving force in the development and settlement of Southeast Missouri, especially the swampy areas south of Cape Girardeau. As demand for timber grew, the need for rail service through the area became important to people like Louis Houck, who saw an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a growing industry...

Life along the lines (07/02/06)
When the last train passed through Advance, Mo., there was no fanfare, no podium with bunting for public officials to mark the day for posterity. In fact, it seemed as if few people in the town even noticed the Frisco line's last hurrah. But Paul Corbin did. The date was Nov. 27, 1965, his 51st birthday...

SAR preserves area history with ceremony to mark grave (06/29/06)
The Allen Laws Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution will hold a ceremony at 2 p.m. Sunday in honor of Alexander McClain, a Revolutionary War soldier who is the great-great-great-grandfather of Randy McClain of Cape Girardeau. The group will place a SAR marker on the grave of at Apple Creek Cemetery in Pocahontas, Mo...

Jackson Heritage Association offers more visitors through partnerships (06/29/06)
Visitors to the upcoming Oliver House Museum open house at 224 East Adams St. in Jackson will enjoy the added attraction of the period gardens, named for Marie Watkins Oliver, who lived in the house with her husband, Sen. Robert B. Oliver, until 1898. Tours are available from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday...

Cape had Chautauqua from 1905 to 1924 (06/18/06)
This year's Chautauqua week won't be the first time Cape Girardeau has seen the event. In the Chautauqua's heyday from the late 19th century to the early 1930s the city played host to a yearly Chautauqua festival. At that time Chautauqua was different than it is now, said Dr. Frank Nickell, director of the Center for Regional History at Southeast Missouri State University...

Regenhardt family tours Academic Hall (06/18/06)
Relatives of the man who built Academic Hall gathered in Cape Girardeau for a two-day reunion and to take a tour of the building. More than 50 descendants of Edward Franz Herman Regenhardt came from all over the country, some to learn the history for the first time. Two living grandsons, William Regenhardt and wife Linda of Mount Vernon, Ill., and Joe Regenhardt and wife Mary Alice of Cape Girardeau, attended the reunion...

Historic log house falls into neglect (06/07/06)
Nestled in neglect, a pre-Civil War log house stands amid knee-high grass and weeds in an out-of-the-way corner of the Southeast Missouri State University farm. A wooden sign along Bainbridge Road west of Interstate 55 proclaims the "Historic Preservation Laboratory." But the log home only a short distance from historic Old McKendree Chapel has been anything but a laboratory for years...

Commission's Legacy Awards go to Red House, downtown murals (06/03/06)
Cape Girardeau's Red House Interpretive Center and downtown murals have been honored with Legacy Awards from the Missouri Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission. The awards recognize projects that keep alive the legacy of Lewis and Clark's journey...

Couples can renew vows with Louis Lorimier re-enactor at the Red House (06/01/06)
Debra Baughn's research into her family history unearthed an interesting nugget: Her ancestors were married by Cape Girardeau founder Louis Lorimier in 1801. And, Baughn surmises, since there were no churches around, the nuptials very well may have taken place at Lorimier's home, the so-called Red House along the Mississippi River...

Thebes residents return for courthouse reopening (05/28/06)
THEBES, Ill. -- As the midday sun beat down on the open, almost treeless fields of the Thebes riverfront, Jerry Whitaker could see shadows of the past. The images he saw from the balcony of the Thebes Historic Courthouse recalled the time before flooding forced the destruction of small businesses, homes and other buildings near the river...

Thebes Courthouse will re-open Memorial Day (05/23/06)
THEBES, Ill. -- Bringing the historic courthouse in this Mississippi River village back to life has been a long, dirty job. Stacks of books, many provided by the WPA during the 1930s, had to be dusted and shelved. Two basement jail cells had to be cleared of years of accumulated debris, some of which washed in through the glassless windows...

Cape garden spot may turn into battleground (05/15/06)
Members of the May Greene Garden Association are concerned about the future of their green space. They're worried it will be transformed into a parking lot if the Cape Girardeau County Commission acquires the federal building on Broadway. "We're just hoping for the best. We have invested so much time and effort over the many years that it's become very dear to our hearts," said association member Rosemary Logan. "We're hoping and praying that it will stay the way it is."...

Fort D Days encampment to offer insight on local history (05/05/06)
This weekend in Cape Girardeau local residents will be able to travel back 145 years to witness life as a soldier during one of the most trying times in the United States. Cape Girardeau's historic Fort D, east of Sprigg Street on Locust Street, was erected in 1861 and served as a Union post during the Civil War, according to Scott House of the Civil War Roundtable of Cape Girardeau...

Dutchtown: Building a village (05/01/06)
In 1776, a man named Martin Rodner settled in Dutchtown and purchased a water mill on Hubble Creek. For many years the mill on Hubble Creek thrived as immigrants from Switzerland began arriving in Dutchtown, originally known as Spencer. A blacksmith and bricklayer set up shop in the small village. The old Bloomfield Road was constructed and ran directly through town. Railroad tracks at one time ran through Dutchtown...

Rooted in faith (05/01/06)
Monola Senn knows most of her family's history is buried in the German Evangelical Church Cemetery in Dutchtown. Last week the 91-year-old Scott City resident walked through a row of tombstones and pointed out important gravesites. "This is my husband's father's grave. ...

New exhibit at Red House looks at Lorimier family (04/27/06)
A new exhibit on Louis Lorimier will debut Saturday, May 6 at the Red House Interpretive Center. Entitled "The Lorimier's: A Metis Trader Family on the Missouri Frontier," the exhibit is a dream come to fruition. Director of exhibits, Linda Nash, said the exhibit has been an idea since the opening of the Red House. Mannequins of Lorimer and some family members dressed in period clothing are featured...

Cape Girardeau's 'other side' (04/24/06)
Every town has that other side. For every workaday community there is always that smaller zone where the rules -- even if they still apply -- may not be enforced so strictly. These are the places where people go to drink, where they go to dance, and sometimes where they go to break the law. For Cape Girardeau, this place has always been East Cape Girardeau...

A bridge to the past: Old Appleton to dedicate its refurbished bridge (04/21/06)
For many of Old Appleton's 82 residents, the rededication of their restored historic bridge on Saturday will be an emotional day. Childhood memories will clutter the minds of a majority of the longtime residents. Some will remember summer days of jumping off the bridge into Apple Creek. Or having picnics along the bank of the creek underneath shade trees...

WWII submarine route commemorated on riverfront (04/16/06)
The river turned another tale Saturday when about 30 people, including members of U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II, gathered at the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus gazebo to dedicate a commemorative storyboard and toll the bell for 52 U.S. submarines lost during the war...

'Fort D Days' coming to Cape in May (04/13/06)
Guns will roar again at the May 6 to 7 "Fort D Days" event held at Cape Girardeau's historic Fort D, on Locust Street off Sprigg Street, four blocks south of Highway 74. Fort D was a triangular fortification ringed by earthen mounds on two sides in the Civil War. It protected Cape Girardeau and its Mississippi River port from posible Confederate Army attacks on land. Cannons could fire on enemy vessels in the river...

Display of 1940s murals starts Friday at museum (04/11/06)
For the first time in more than 10 years, a set of four murals commissioned by the Southeast Missourian in the 1940s will be on public display. The public viewing starts Friday at the River Heritage Museum for the murals of Ary Marbain. Marbain, a St. Louis-based artist, painted four murals for the Southeast Missourian in 1944 in celebration of the newspaper's 40th anniversary. At the time, newspaper owners Fred and George Naeter saw the murals as a point of local pride and promotion...

Civil War Roundtable group still growing and learning (03/20/06)
The Civil War Roundtable, established in 1993, provides a forum for members to come together for study, discussion and growth concerning the American Civil War. A membership of about 30 encourages respect for and historical reflection about the broad dimensions of the middle period of American history...

CVB, Old Town Cape joint project puts plaques on historic buildings (03/14/06)
Historic buildings were fitted with mounted plaques Monday telling some of the "thousand tales" that make up the history of Cape Girardeau. The 12 bronze plaques are part of a joint effort between the Convention and Visitors Bureau and Old Town Cape to call attention to historically important architecture in the city...

Echoes through history: Mississippian civilization scholar explains the people behind the artifacts at annual lecture (03/13/06)
Dr. Tim Pauketat wants to change the way people think about pre-Columbian America. "Most people tend not to think of history before the arrival of Columbus, and they think of the ancient past as pre-history, so a lot of generalities are used to describe the past," said Pauketat. "Now we're finding we can talk about real history with real people."...

A climb up Cape's family tree (03/13/06)
To look at Diane Gray's book of ancestral records is to see how the Internet has democratized information gathering. "Some of this stuff I couldn't find again if you paid me," said Gray. "It was just like I find one icon online and I click on it and that leads to another icon and I click on that and before you know it I've got all this stuff about my family."...

Plaques going on several historic buildings Monday (03/11/06)
Old Town Cape in partnership with the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau will install 12 bronze plaques on historic buildings around Cape Girardeau on Monday. The plaques, valued at $400 each, will detail the history of the structures. Many of the buildings' owners will attend a ceremony at 9 a.m. Monday at the CVB to celebrate the occasion. All of these structures are either on the National Register of Historic Places or in the process of getting the designation...

Historic register status clears path for uptown renovation (02/14/06)
Merchants in Jackson's uptown business district can start receiving state and federal tax credits if they renovate their historic buildings. The uptown historic district committee received notice last Friday that the area has officially been listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service...

City shaped by black history (02/13/06)
A crime lab on Merriwether Street. A community center on Frederick Street. An office building in Jackson. From the outside, there's little evidence of the buildings' significance -- no plaques to proclaim their past, no paintings of them hanging in museums...

Historian to speak about Underground Railroad (02/10/06)
For blacks living in the South prior to the Civil War, the Underground Railroad provided them the opportunity and assistance to escape slavery. The series of hiding places for runaway slaves has been eluding researchers for years, said Dr. Frank Nickell, the director of the Center for Regional History at Southeast Missouri State University. "There is so much folklore about it but very little documentation of where it existed," he said...

Uptown Jackson awaits word on historic status (01/30/06)
Jackson's uptown historic district committee chairman was hoping the city's uptown would be approved for the National Register of Historic Places on Friday -- but it didn't happen. Now it may be a matter of days before the uptown receives a place on the registry...

Celebrating 125 years of trains (01/01/06)
Cape Girardeau's first train rolled into town in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 125 years ago to much fanfare -- boisterous bands, cheering crowds and a huge celebration. At least that's the way Louis Houck, the man who had the railroad built, told the story for years...

Cape's Glenn House shows its improvements inside and out (12/18/05)
Visitors to the Glenn House on Saturday got to see more than the holiday decorations. They got to see the the improvements that have been made with $31,000 from the city of Cape Girardeau. Bill Port, who oversaw the work at 325 S. Spanish St., said the biggest project was the front porch. Rotting wood has been replaced, and railings have been refinished...

Wittenberg: Nothing left but relics and memories (12/10/05)
PERRY COUNTY, Mo. -- Behind the wheel of his white Buick, Robert Fiehler pauses a moment to point out the highlights of one of Wittenberg's finest neighborhoods. "That's where Earl Warren lived. And next door was Rudy Shotty. And that was Paul Lorenz's house," he says, indicating a patch of woods thick with small trees and brush...

More added to list of Cape treasures (11/28/05)
Every three months, the Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission selects buildings that illustrate important elements of the city's culture and history. Selections for the fall and winter of 2005 are: 213 S. Middle St. (Lutz house), built c. 1900; owner is Olivette Kassel...

Stories set in stone (11/27/05)
The story of Cape Girardeau, good and bad, can be read in the weathered stones of Old Lorimier Cemetery. The oldest site in town continuously used for its original purpose, the graveyard at 500 N. Fountain St. received renewed attention this year because of a successful push to enshrine it on the National Register of Historic Places. And it received more negative attention when vandals toppled or broke 69 headstones in late October...

Some Trail of Tears graves may be near Anna (11/25/05)
ANNA, Ill. -- The tiny Camp Ground church cemetery includes among its dead some of the earliest settlers from this part of Southern Illinois -- Germans whose weathered sandstone grave markers date to the 1800s. Still, a mystery lingers about others who might be buried on this solemn ground: Is the graveyard the final resting place of Cherokee Indians who died here during the winter of 1838-1839 when they were forced westward on the infamous Trail of Tears to what now is Oklahoma?...

Area Civil War history buffs work to clean up Fort D (11/20/05)
If Fort D in Cape Girardeau hasn't gotten much public attention, Scott House doesn't think it's because people don't care. He thinks it's because they don't know. They don't know, for example, that it's one of only three surviving Civil War earthwork fortifications in Missouri. Or that Union soldiers dug shelters into the hillside to escape the cold or passed the time bowling on the grounds in south Cape Girardeau with homemade wooden pins and 32-pound cannon balls...

Group to discuss old Benton High School's fate (11/18/05)
BENTON, Mo. -- The old Benton High School is in bad shape -- floors are buckling, plumbing doesn't function and plaster is falling off the walls. But the members of the Benton Community Betterment Corp. are hoping to reverse the disrepair that has befallen the building. They want to restore the facility, and hopefully earn it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places...

Cairo's financial woes lead to battle over preservation (11/14/05)
CAIRO, Ill. -- Some people in Cairo think the key to the town's future lies in its rich history. What else is there in Cairo in 2005, they ask? Cairo is a city that has seen better days. The population is shrinking, historic buildings sit condemned on Commercial Avenue, city leaders are tied up in lawsuits over alleged abuses of power (and accusations that haven't turned into lawsuits). On top of it all, the tax base has crumbled and the city is in a budget crisis...

Recalling Cape's history (11/14/05)
Sally Napier Bueno, left, Missouri State Society Daughters of the American Revolution state regent, and Jane Randol Jackson, John Guild Chapter regent, unveiled a bronze plaque recognizing George Drouillard at the Red House Interpretive Center on Sunday. Drouillard, who lived in Cape Girardeau when he was young, was chief hunter and interpreter on the Lewis and Clark Expedition Corps of Discovery. He was also the nephew of Louis Lorimier, founder of Cape Girardeau...

St. Louisan helps with cemetery restoration (11/11/05)
City workers responsible for repairing and restoring the grave markers at Old Lorimier Cemetery received a lesson Thursday in the latest techniques. John Maurath of St. Louis brought a portable generator, cleaners and glues designed for stonework to Cape Girardeau's oldest cemetery. The daunting job, made tougher by the late October vandalism that toppled 69 headstones, aims to bring a renaissance to the graveyard founded in 1808...

Cape group to meet, tell stories of city's past (11/09/05)
A diverse group of Cape Girardeau residents will share their stories and memories of the city's history Sunday at the Convention and Visitors Bureau. In conjunction with the city's bicentennial celebration, the Historical Association of Cape Girardeau will present a series of four programs over the next year. The programs, "Remembering Cape Girardeau," will feature a panel of five people who will discuss a variety of changes in the last four decades...

Figure from Cape's past being honored with plaque (11/08/05)
The John Guild Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is recognizing an important figure in Cape Girardeau's history on Sunday. George Drouillard was a chief hunter on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, said Jane Randol Jackson, director of the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center. He was also the nephew of Louis Lorimier...

Cape Girardeau's bicentennial celebration to be incorporated into other events (11/05/05)
Cape Girardeau's bicentennial next year won't be marked with one big blow-out, but instead a yearlong celebration that is incorporated into several community events such as the Fourth of July LibertyFest and the Christmas Parade of Lights. Instead of having a big party, the bicentennial committee decided this would be a way to keep costs down while spreading the celebration throughout the year, said city public information manager and committee member Tracey Glenn. ...

Four more Cape sites added to National Register (11/01/05)
Four historical sites were recently added to a growing number of Cape Girardeau landmarks listed on the National Register of Historic Places...

Photo exhibit captures decades of Cape history (10/03/05)
A visual record of life in Cape Girardeau from 1925 through 1995 can now be seen at Southeast Missouri State University's Kent Library. The university unveiled photographs from the Herbert L. and Paul Lueders Photographic Collection on Sunday. More than 30 images were on display, and 30 more were presented in a slide show...

Old Appleton gets new bridge (09/24/05)
More than two decades since a flash flood ripped down Old Appleton's historic bridge, a contractor hoisted the iron truss frame of the bridge into place Friday afternoon. Mayor Kevin Amschler said earlier this week that the decking and handrails for the bridge should be complete within two months...

Uptown Jackson becomes state historic district (08/20/05)
The proposed uptown Jackson historic district has won approval from the Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the next step in achieving National Historic District status. Melinda Winchester, a historic preservationist for Lafser and Associates, received the approval Friday after a presentation to the advisory council...

Historic Thebes courthouse: Monument to neglect (08/12/05)
THEBES, Ill. -- The two-story sandstone courthouse sits atop a bluff, commanding a sweeping view of the Mississippi River. But the 157-year-old building seems anything but majestic these days. An arched wooden door to the building remains padlocked. Scrub trees, weeds and brush surround the courthouse, partially obscuring the front of the building...

Cairo's sad songs (07/22/05)
Stace England creates 11-track album that includes more than 50 musicians. CAIRO, Ill. --The atmosphere of modern-day Commercial Avenue in Cairo is surreal. The wide street was designed to carry large volumes of people and goods through the city's bustling commercial center on the riverfront. Any more, Commercial Avenue is deserted like an Old West ghost town or Hollywood sound stage...

Costs take bite out of Apple Creek bridge progress (07/21/05)
Restoration effort stalls while waiting for enough money to buy decking and handrails. A 23-year effort to restore the historic Old Appleton bridge as a pedestrian walkway over Apple Creek is in jeopardy, with the community struggling to come up with $14,000 to pay its portion for the span's decking and handrails...

University to tear down old home (07/21/05)
Southeast Missouri State University plans to demolish an approximately century-old brick house to expand a campus parking lot, a move that local preservationists say goes against the very philosophy of the school's nationally known historic preservation program...

Cape says Broadway house may be spared (07/21/05)
A 79-year-old brick house-turned-business may survive the Broadway widening project thanks to efforts by Cape Girardeau city officials to work with the property owner who doesn't want to relocate his ethnic foods business out of the structure. "We are trying our best to work with him to be able to keep it there," said Martha Brown, a planner with the city's planning services department...

Mural dedication to honor larger-than-life characters (07/05/05)
During the height of the Mississippi River's steamboat days, the section of river in front of Cape Girardeau was under the stewardship of steamboat captain William "Buck" Leyhe. One of the more familiar sites in Cape Girardeau starting in 1901 would be that of Capt. Leyhe, barking orders through a megaphone to the men unloading freight from the deck of his steamer...

Farmstead draws history lovers for 150th birthday (07/05/05)
"This really was an ugly room," Sandi Heidorn tells her tour group. "It took a lot of Lysol to clean the mildew up." She is referring to the sitting room in Big Hill Farmstead, a home on the list of the National Register of Historic Places which is celebrating its sesquicentennial -- that's 150 years...

Cape to mark bicentennial in 2006 (06/23/05)
Cape Girardeau will celebrate its bicentennial as a city in 2006, beginning in February with a re-enactment of the filing of a plat that set the original boundaries of the town. A committee headed by city spokeswoman Tracey Glenn is currently planning for the bicentennial...

Bringing a cemetery back to life (06/18/05)
Louis Houck, one of Cape Girardeau's great catalysts of progress, seemed like a nice-enough guy Friday night as he stood near his headstone in Old Lorimier Cemetery. Apparently the 80 years of lying in a grave hasn't hurt him that much. "You're welcome to walk around here and look at where my bones are," Houck told visitors to his grave Friday night. Actually, it was Richard Withers, who was playing Houck in a rather congenial manner...

Newspaper building given national register status (06/16/05)
When it was built in 1924, the publishers of the Southeast Missourian saw their new building on Broadway as a visible symbol of their commitment to community beautification. Today, that exterior architecture -- Spanish-style roof, ornamental balconies, arched windows and glazed-tile walls -- and the newspaper's impact on Cape Girardeau history have landed the building on the National Register of Historic Places even as the newspaper plans to make extensive improvements to the structure...

Panel adds more to list of Cape's treasures (06/16/05)
The Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission regularly selects buildings that embody important elements of the city's culture and history and places a sign in the yard identifying them as one of "Cape's Original Treasures." Selections for spring 2005 are:...

Historic house shaping up with funds from city (06/04/05)
Cape Girardeau's historic Glenn House hasn't always been treated well. Over the years, the Victorian-era home that is now a house-museum has seen its share of owners and tenants, some of whom haven't been kind to the 122-year-old home. The Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau has owned the house for about 35 years, said association building and grounds supervisor Bill Port, but in the last 18 months, several major repairs have been made to the home, some of them using $31,117 of surplus funds from the Convention and Visitors Bureau.. ...

Index covers 200 years of county probate cases (06/01/05)
Genealogy researchers, abstractors and lawyers have a new tool to peek into Cape Girardeau County's past. The Cape Girardeau County Archive Center in Jackson recently released a new book that indexes every individual who passed through probate court systems from 1797 to 2002...

Cape sites closer to national renown (05/21/05)
Five historic sites in Cape Girardeau moved a step closer Friday to being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation approved the nominations during the second day of its two-day meeting in Cape Girardeau...

Cape's historic sites targeted for preservation effort (05/19/05)
Increasing preservation efforts at Old Lorimier Cemetery and Fort D and getting tax credits for restoration of historic sites were the topics addressed by three speakers at Wednesday night's meeting of the Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission...

State board for historic preservation to gather (05/19/05)
The public will have an opportunity to meet the Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation at a reception from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at Buckner Brewing Co. restaurant at 132 N. Main St. The Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, the historic preservation program at Southeast Missouri State University and Buckner Brewing Co. ...

Music provides insight on history (05/18/05)
Visitors to the Red House Interpretive Center in Cape Girardeau were treated to the sounds of the past Tuesday night. Mary Green Vickery, a singer/songwriter/historian, presented a lecture and performance titled "Songs Lewis and Clark Might Have Sung."...

Chaffee finds multiple ways to mark town's centennial (04/29/05)
CHAFFEE, Mo. -- This summer, residents of Chaffee will celebrate a milestone in the history of their community. Founded in 1905, this is the year the town of about 3,000 will celebrate their history with a slate of centennial events. H.B. Rice, who is helping organize the centennial events, said the reasons for celebrating life in Chaffee are simple, much like the small community itself...

Old Appleton bridge restoration effort aims to reunite town (04/28/05)
Two decades after a flash flood tore apart Old Appleton's historic bridge, a contractor is preparing to restore the iron truss structure as a pedestrian walkway that will span Apple Creek and reconnect the two sides of town. The Old Appleton Town Board has awarded a $519,000 contract to A.E. Simpson Construction of Scott City...

Finding new places in history (04/24/05)
Bing Crosby sang its praises. More than 1,300 people showed up for the opening of the neon-lit Esquire Theater when it opened in 1947. The one-time Cape Girardeau landmark closed in the mid-1980s. Now it's being talked about again, along with a one-room schoolhouse, an aging cemetery, a former Catholic seminary and a prominent old home in Cape Girardeau as the latest buildings that may be added to the National Register of Historic Places...

Colorful pasts: Area mayors dealt with everything (03/06/05)
Three hundred unemployed men threatened to kill one of Cape Girardeau's past mayors and blow up the town unless they were fed. One of Jackson's mayors railed against bootleggers from Bollinger County. A former mayor of Illmo, one of the towns that eventually became Scott City, operated a saloon and mail-order whiskey business...

Discovery made about Lewis, Clark history (03/05/05)
The Red House Interpretive Center opens its 2005 season today as Cape Girardeau gains new prominence in the history of the Corps of Discovery. Research by Jane Randol Jackson, chairwoman of the Red House board, has revealed that the city played a larger role in Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's Corps of Discovery voyage than first thought. Following the expedition's return from the Pacific Ocean, four of its members settled in the area around Cape Girardeau...

Lorimier Cemetery proposed for historic register (03/04/05)
Cape Girardeau city officials want Old Lorimier Cemetery named to the National Register of Historic Places, a move they say could lead to federal grant money to preserve and restore the community heritage represented in the aging headstones and tap into the tourism of local history...

Growth tracks (02/27/05)
It must have seemed like Cape Girardeau's population doubled overnight to the city's long-standing residents. For 100 years, the riverside town grew at a rather lackadaisical pace. The 1,205 residents who were here in 1803 for the first census had grown to 4,815 by 1890, an average of just 41 additional people per year...

Newspaper building makes history (02/19/05)
In the 1920s, the Spanish-inspired stucco building at 301 Broadway was declared "the fanciest piece of property in Cape Girardeau." While larger, more modern facilities have sprouted up throughout the city in the past 80 years, the two-story newspaper building at the corner of Broadway and Lorimier Street remains a centerpiece in local culture...

Making history on Water Street (02/09/05)
Once the home of cavernous brick warehouses, Cape Girardeau's Water Street now draws tourists to its restaurants and colorful floodwall mural that paints the town's vivid past. As city officials and downtown merchants look to turn Water Street into a one-way road and dress up the area with a decorative sidewalk and improved parking, the neighborhood has gained another point of attraction: Three contiguous, 19th-century brick buildings that now house Port Cape Girardeau restaurant have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Warehouse Row Historic District, one of four historic districts in the city.. ...

Failing history (01/30/05)
In 1991, the Orpheum Theater, a Cape Girardeau landmark that introduced talking motion pictures to the area in 1929, was reduced to rubble after inspectors noticed major roof damage. Three years later, Southeast Missouri State University tore down the former home of Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. -- the patriarch of the city's famous first family -- to make room for a new business building...

Matthews family book garners kudos for regional history (01/24/05)
One of the latest books published by the Southeast Missouri State University Press is already being hailed by local scholars as an important work in documenting the history of the region. The book, published in December, is "Matthews: The Historic Adventures of a Pioneer Family" and chronicles more than 200 years and seven generations of the Matthews family, an economic powerhouse in the area...

St. Louis fires special teams coach Stock (01/22/05)
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams have fired special teams coach Mike Stock, the third man to coach the Ram's special teams since 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday. Calls to a Rams spokesman were not returned. Stock, 65, was in St. Louis just one season after replacing Bobby April, who was fired after the 2003 season. April had been with the Rams for three seasons. He replaced Larry Pasquale, fired after one season in 2000...

Courthouse boosts Jackson's proposed historic district (01/21/05)
The Cape Girardeau County Commission voted Thursday to allow the courthouse to be included in Jackson's proposed historical district. The commission originally objected about maintenance and construction restrictions if the Missouri Department of Natural Resources got its hands on it...

Commission seeks funds to restore schoolhouse (01/21/05)
When the nearly 150-year-old Head School in Scott City was moved from George Albrecht's farm to Old Illmo last August, something unexpected happened. The tin roof of the historical building caught on a tree and was torn. Now the Scott City Historical Preservation Commission is trying to raise money to restore it before the weather can further the damage. But replacing the roof is only one of the many repairs needed to bring the structure up to at least good condition...

Discovery of Cape 'tunnel' proves to be beer cellar (01/21/05)
There were plenty of rumors brewing Thursday about a "tunnel" uncovered near Morgan Oak Street in Cape Girardeau. County health officials initially called it an old tunnel. There was speculation that it extended under Morgan Oak and might be part of the Underground Railroad effort to help runaway slaves in the 1800s...

The defense of Fort D (01/19/05)
Other than the name Fort D on a sign above the sidewalk entrance to the southside landmark, nothing at the site reveals that this is one of only three surviving Civil War earthwork fortifications in Missouri. Nothing explains the grass-covered and rounded earthen walls built in August 1861 on a bluff overlooking what was then farmland south of the small town of Cape Girardeau...

Eggimann's Feed & Seed razed (01/18/05)
In 1938, the first owner was a man named O.E. Eggimann, who came to be known as "Eggimann the Egg Man" when his picture appeared in newspapers across the country in the old "Ripley's Believe it or Not" column. His partner in those early days was A.C. "Doc" Brase, whose name now graces the multipurpose building at Arena Park. Decades later, patrons came to know "Snuggies," the Texas heeler dog, who on warm days could be found resting on bales of hay along the storefront...

Old Appleton still seeks to replace lost bridge (01/17/05)
Recent history has not been kind to Old Appleton. For 103 years, an iron truss bridge stretched over Apple Creek in the heart of this town, half of which lies in Cape Girardeau County and the other in Perry. Then, in 1982, the quiet swimming and fishing hole raged in a flash. The surging swell twisted the red bridge off its base and carried it downstream...

Discovering new treasures (01/17/05)
Every three months, the Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission selects buildings that embody important elements of the city's culture and history whose property owners have improved or maintained the structure in a manner that enhances or protects their architectural integrity. The commission's selections are distinguished by yard signs identifying the properties as "One of Cape's Original Treasures." Signs remain in the yard for three to four months...

Tour highlights area's historic churches (12/12/04)
More than 20 people boarded a bus Saturday to tour historic churches in Cape Girardeau and Perry counties. Dr. Frank Nickell, director of the Southeast Missouri Regional History Center at Southeast Missouri State University, led the all-day tour, which was intended to prompt people to explore other important places of worship in the area...

Shocking history of local squirrels (12/11/04)
Squirrels drive some people nuts. Bird lovers aren't fond of the fluffy-tailed rodents, which explains why a variety of weight-sensitive bird feeders have been created to keep squirrels out. Some homeowners consider squirrels a nuisance since the animals take out their passion for gnawing on houses. They've chewed their way into attics and taken up residence, and biting at electrical wires is not uncommon...

Kinder to be first lt. governor from Cape County in 150 years (11/12/04)
The two previous lieutenant governors from the county were doctors who lived in Cape Girardeau and Jackson. By Marc Powers ~ Southeast Missourian JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- When Peter Kinder is sworn in as Missouri lieutenant governor in January, he will be the first Republican to hold the post in 24 years and just the second in 72 years...

State database lists soldiers dating to 1812 (11/12/04)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- More than 576,000 Missourians who served in the military from the territorial era through World War I are now listed in an Internet-accessible database maintained by the secretary of state's office. The state database is an expansion of an online listing of World War I service members, which has received more than 234,000 Internet requests since it debuted about two years ago...

Schools to receive DVD copy of historical production (10/07/04)
More than 140 years ago, the spot that now houses Central Middle School was the site of a major clash between Confederate and Union troops that took the lives of more than 330 soldiers. So it was only fitting that the school be the first in Cape Girardeau to receive a special video about local Civil War history...

Making Jackson's past the historical present (09/18/04)
Much attention has been given to Jackson's progress. But some of the city's uptown merchants will soon find out how much attention should be given to its past. A new effort at forming a historical district uptown is underway in Jackson. When asked about details of the possible district -- like eligible buildings and potential costs -- Tom Strickland said he didn't want to give away any specifics until all of the uptown building owners had been approached...

Tuesday marks 75th anniversary of March King visit (09/13/04)
Cmdr. John Philip Sousa was given the key to the city of Cape Girardeau upon his arrival here on Sept. 14, 1929. Mayor James A. Barks, standing on the running board of the car, presented the key. Southeast Missourian In a bustle, the March King brought his 85-piece band to Cape Girardeau...

What happened at 19 N. Water St. (08/29/04)
When the Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission recently reviewed a proposal to make Water Street one-way and expand the eastern sidewalk to accommodate pedestrian mural-viewers, it was big news to many residents. But for Water Street itself, it was just another change...

Lost Army camp unearthed in Illinois (08/22/04)
PULASKI COUNTY, Ill. -- Residents around here used to find arrowheads in the mud of the riverside field after a heavy rain. Now they're watching as archaeologists dig up broken bits of fine china, parts of military uniforms and even charred firewood, relics of one of the biggest Army camps in the earliest days of the republic...

Swingle movie revives Civil War history (08/19/04)
When Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle was researching historical material for his 2002 novel "The Gold of Cape Girardeau," he discovered so much information about Cape Girardeau during the Civil War that he thought it would be a shame for it to go to waste...

Moving history (08/10/04)
Monday morning in the Old Illmo part of Scott City, people stood outside their homes watching a 20-by-30-foot former one-room schoolhouse turn the corner of Third and Hickory streets. "This is the most excitement Scott City has had in a long time," one person remarked...

Improvements go on at Cape's Red House (08/02/04)
While it may have opened in November, the Red House Interpretive Center still has a way to go before it reaches completion. But progress is being made. One of the most visible improvements is a new Red House sign made by local artist Tim Roth. There are also two new interpretive signs that give an explanation of the Red House. A sprinkler system for the gardens was recently installed and some garden walkways have been completed...

Group wants funding from Cape to make Glenn House repairs (08/02/04)
Cape Girardeau's most well-known Victorian home needs some fixing up, and the not-for-profit group that operates Glenn House wants the city to spend $31,117 in surplus motel and restaurant tax dollars for the repairs. But Mayor Jay Knudtson worries that the council could be flooded with spending requests at a time when the city has no comprehensive plan on how more than $800,000 in surplus Convention and Visitors Bureau money should be spent...

Fighting fire with fire (06/27/04)
The anger's gone. So too are the frustrations that led to a bitter labor dispute between Cape Girardeau firefighters and city officials 25 years ago this month. The newspaper clippings have long yellowed with age. But the memories of both sides are still strong and still far apart...

Death database peers into Missouri's past (06/20/04)
On the surface, former Missouri Lt. Gov. Thomas Reynolds had everything: a wife, community stature, a law practice in St. Louis. But a coroner's inquest conducted at Lynch's Undertaking Establishment tells a different story of Reynolds, who left Missouri briefly during the Civil War with other Confederate exiles...

Cape's history in pictures (06/17/04)
The photographic images -- most of them black and white -- remain as sharply in focus as when they were taken even though most are decades old. Babies. Politicians. Families. Fender benders. Store window displays. Polished bank lobbies from bygone eras. Weddings. Funerals. Flooded Main Street. Women operating a local telephone switchboard after World War II...

Residents seek arts, historic district for Scott City (06/07/04)
Over the next few years the owner of the Schock Community Arts Center sees the Scott City area known as Old Illmo becoming a place where people from all over can come to enjoy festivals and performances, a place artists from around the country can call home and a place locals can take renewed pride in and reap economic benefits from...

Downtown synagogue makes national list of historic sites (05/17/04)
The B'nai Israel synagogue in downtown Cape Girardeau is the latest addition to the National Register of Historic Places. The May 5 approval by state and federal departments is just one step in preserving the synagogue's structure and heritage, said developer John Wyman, owner of the synagogue. The building is now eligible for tax credits on restoration projects...

New books at archive center detail court records (05/16/04)
When Joseph McFerron jotted down court records in the early 1800s, he couldn't have known that 200 years later, he'd be giving headaches to a Cape Girardeau couple originally from New York. McFerron, the first court clerk in Cape Girardeau County, had something of a handwriting flaw, but Bob and Ann Parkinson painstakingly decoded McFerron's unusual cursive and have helped make court records from 1805 to 1812 available to anyone who can read typed copy...

Book persuaded Germans to settle in eastern Missouri (05/09/04)
ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Exactly 175 years ago, German immigrant Gottfried Duden wrote a book that historians say changed the course of immigration history in Missouri and the eastern United States. Duden's book persuaded thousands of disenchanted countrymen to head for the United States. He himself journeyed to Warren County in eastern Missouri...

Naturally historic (05/07/04)
MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- It's been two years since the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History was incorporated and four years since volunteers began fixing the building where its antiquities are housed. In this short span, the museum has become known for its dinosaur exhibits, especially the bone fragments of the Hadrosaur -- known colloquially as the "Missouri dinosaur."...

State map exhibit offers snapshot of past (04/28/04)
Maps do more than help people who are lost and tell them how to get from one location to another. They can also serve as invaluable historical documents, a means of entertainment and may simply be aesthetically pleasing. All of the above are currently on display at the Missouri State Archives' "Mapping Missouri" exhibit...

Remembering the Alamo's connections to Missouri (04/09/04)
Some probably remember "The Alamo" opens today in movie theaters, but certainly fewer know that the leaders of the battle for Texas independence share ties to Missouri. Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett and Stephen Austin all have connections -- some more tenuous than others -- to the Show Me state...

Illinois portion of Trail of Tears re-emerges (04/06/04)
DIXON SPRINGS, Ill. -- The Illinois portion of the Cherokee Indians' Trail of Tears is re-emerging as researchers and enthusiasts work to document the path used by thousands of Indians forced to relocate in the late 1830s. While the Trail of Tears is celebrated in other states, only now is there an organized effort in Illinois to look for the trail, which followed old military roads to the west. ...

The United Way at 50 - Timeline (03/25/04)
June 22, 1954 -- Four committees, representing Chamber of Commerce, Retail Merchants Association, Jaycees, and Council of Women's Clubs, authorized a survey of major health, welfare and character-building agencies serving Cape Girardeau. The survey studied the purposes, activities, and funds required by 11 organizations in the city. Following a poll of Cape Girardeau residents, it was decided to conduct a United Fund Campaign here...

50 years of giving it away (03/25/04)
In the spring of 1993, the Area Wide United Way was evicted from its office in the Boatmen's Bank facility at 100 Broadway in Cape Girardeau to make room for additional storage. It was the fund-raising organization's fourth location in the building in seven years, its 30th location citywide in 38 years of existence...

Women have played a vital role in the progress of Cape (03/14/04)
Throughout history, women have played a quiet role in bettering communities, and Cape Girardeau's women were no exception. Locally, women's groups have worked to offer health care, promoted education by providing scholarships and creating a library, and developed the city's first parks...

Snowstorm frozen in time (02/25/04)
Twenty-five years ago today, Cape Girardeau and its inhabitants were paralyzed by a winter storm unlike any the city had seen before. Two feet of snow fell during a 15-hour period Sunday, Feb. 25, 1979, making travel all but impossible, crushing roofs and leaving countless people stranded in cars, at work and in hotels....

The wild life of Happy Hollow (01/11/04)
Cape Girardeau's new federal courthouse will dress up the landscape near city hall, but it won't touch Happy Hollow, a rugged ravine of scraggly trees, underbrush and algae-covered water that was once a city dump that attracted rats, vagrants and drunks...

New book reveals life of farmer who helped sharecroppers rebel (12/26/03)
A protest by sharecroppers in Missouri's Bootheel drew reporters from newspapers across the nation in January 1939. Living in tents made of blankets and enduring frigid temperatures, some 1,200 demonstrators staged a sit-down strike along U.S. 61...

Couple plans to refurbish Cape Girardeau mansion (12/20/03)
One night last summer, Dr. Robert Hamblin and his wife, Kaye, parked their car in front of the deteriorating brick mansion at 313 Themis St. before walking to Courthouse Park to hear a concert. Seeing the "For sale" sign in the yard, he told her he'd been thinking they should buy an old house downtown to restore...

Tracking Illmo's railroad heritage (12/09/03)
Librarians objected to the first book in Gertrude Chandler Warner's classic "Boxcar Children" series. The librarians thought the book's orphaned children, living in a boxcar and surviving by their ingenuity, were having too much fun without any parental control...

Ex-synagogue, tavern seek spots in history (11/29/03)
Nominations are pending to place two more properties in Cape Girardeau -- a tavern and a former synagogue -- and the Scott County Courthouse in Benton, Mo., on the National Register of Historic Places. The state Advisory Council on Historic Preservation already has recommended all three for the National Register. The National Park Service, which oversees the register, has not yet given its approval to the buildings but rarely denies a state recommendation...

Scott City seeking home for historic rural schoolhouse (10/07/03)
Scott City is searching for a home for the Head School, a historic one-room schoolhouse donated to the city earlier this year. At Monday night's Scott City City Council meeting, Carolyn Pendergrass, chairwoman of the city's Historic Preservation Commission, said her preference is to place the 20-by-30-foot building on the city street that runs in front of the park. The Scott City Park Board has denied an application to locate the schoolhouse within Hawthorne Park...

Memorabilia from Scott City's past on display (10/03/03)
Vyron and Lillian Harmon sat under a freshly painted Victorian tin ceiling in a room that once displayed their kitchen appliances and furniture. Now dinner tables replace the springless cotton and felt couches the Harmons sold after World War II, and there is a women's basketball uniform from 1924, a detective kit featuring disappearing ink, and a moveable block printing press where they used to sell refrigerators...

Rare Missouri marble used to encase historic documents (09/19/03)
The Associated Press ST. LOUIS -- Pieces of now-rare marble from a Missouri quarry have a key place in displaying priceless historical documents in the renovated National Archives Building in Washington. The building was re-dedicated Wednesday after more...

Thomas Jefferson opens history series in Thebes (09/16/03)
THEBES, Ill. -- After describing the hardships faced by Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery, a French riverman Monday night suggested that President Thomas Jefferson must not be very clever to have believed that the Missouri River would lead them to the Pacific Ocean...

Illinois slave house has notable past, uncertain future (09/15/03)
JUNCTION, Ill. -- When George Sisk heard steps on his driveway early one morning, he did what he usually does when strangers ignore the No Trespassing signs leading to his house and the gate at the end of his driveway. "I took my pistol and shot at them," said Sisk, "just over their heads." The interlopers tumbled into their truck and took off...

Family renovating former Gordonville saloon into home (08/25/03)
Pulling the doorbell cord on the home at 875 Highway Z in Gordonville produces the mad clanging from a bell that once summoned students to class in the nearby town formerly called Fornfelt, now Scott City. The two front doors came from a Cape Girardeau bank. ...

Town connected to publisher Hearst (08/25/03)
ST. CLAIR, Mo. --Here's a piece of Missouri history trivia. What's the state's connection to famed publisher William Randolph Hearst, who was unflatteringly represented in the movie "Citizen Kane?" Hint: There's a Hearst-financed community building just outside the Meramec River Valley town of St. Clair...

KC events mark dark chapter in Civil War (08/24/03)
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- One of the darkest chapters in the feud between Missouri and Kansas that began during the Civil War will be commemorated today in an unusual and somber gathering. Those who attend the 140th anniversary of Order No. 11 at the 1859 Jail, Marshal's Home and Museum in Independence can expect to be interrogated instead of entertained...

Volunteers clean stone marking pioneers' graves (08/24/03)
FEMME OSAGE, Mo. -- As she washed the dinner dishes, Zenita Albers would look out the parsonage kitchen window and lament that most names on the blackened gravestones in the church cemetery could not be read. It's not right, she would say, and her daughter, Cindy Albers Carr, took her words to heart...

Centuries- old war history found in county (08/16/03)
When people think of history in Cape Girardeau County, many things come to mind. Lewis and Clark; the Trail of Tears; the Missouri state flag's local origin, ... But the Revolutionary War? Steve Pledger, the military archive whiz at the county's archive center, is in the process of typing out Revolutionary War pension applications found last month, including a handwritten request by a war veteran to the county court, known today as the county commission...

Remembering the flood of '93 (08/08/03)
Laverne Smith Laverne Smith remembers well the deluge of summer rains north of Cape Girardeau in 1993. She remembers the ever-rising waters of the Mississippi River, the crushed levies, and then, when the water finally receded, the mud that caked many buildings in the area...

Today marks 140th anniversary of Round Pond massacre (08/01/03)
Back in the early 1920s, W.W. Davault was a country doctor living in Allenville. Sometimes he would take his little boy, Hughes, in the buggy when making a call to Rum Branch or another tiny community. One day his father turned in at Round Pond and pointed into the water...

Gallery of mayors tells Scott City history (07/28/03)
The photographs on the back wall of the Scott City Council chambers tell stories about the history of the community. J.P. Lightner, a cigar in one hand, served 14 years in as mayor in different terms beginning in 1908. Lightner owned the town's opera house and donated the land that is now the city cemetery named for him...

A gift of history (07/07/03)
In the latter part of the 19th century, on an acre of land he donated, Julius Albrecht built a one-room schoolhouse on the family farm east of what is now Scott City. Many farm children from the area went through their first eight grades at Head School before it closed in 1940. Among them were Julius' grandson, George, and seven of George's brothers and sisters...

Mystery photograph is of Iranian official (07/07/03)
Michelle Fayette is the Executive director at Kenny Rogers Children's Center in Sikeston.Southeast Missourian A photo submitted by Leonard Clayton of Cape Girardeau was published a few months ago on the Faces & Places page of the Southeast Missourian. The original news story was discovered in the Southeast Missourian archives and supplied identification of all the individuals...

Buildings of Missouri red granite are vestiges of Depression (06/30/03)
Here and there in southern Missouri cities like Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Ste. Genevieve and Van Buren can be found houses made from Missouri red granite. These houses are architecturally significant because of the way they were made. The stones were put into forms, and mortar was filled in around them. Typically, the largest dimension in stones is horizontal, but in these houses the largest dimension is vertical...

Re-enactors to mark George Rogers Clark's march to Kaskaskia (06/23/03)
Most of the excitement about the approaching Lewis and Clark Bicentennial focuses on the journey by explorers William Clark and Meriwether Lewis down the Ohio River and up the Mississippi before setting out on the Missouri River in 1804 to open the American West. But in the summer of 1778, William Clark's brother, George Rogers Clark, first established the American claim to the West by taking the British fort at Kaskaskia...

Historic Reynolds House gets on endangered list (05/09/03)
Cape Girardeau's run-down Reynolds House has landed on a Missouri preservation group's Ten Most Endangered Properties List for 2003. Missouri Preservation, a statewide, nonprofit group, annually identifies structures in deteriorating condition that need to be preserved...

Tuesday's tornado was near repeat of 1923 cyclone at Jackson (05/09/03)
Though few people today could possibly recall it, Tuesday's tornado was not the first time the heart of Jackson was ripped apart by a fury of wind. Eighty years have passed but the story was much the same then as it was this week. A tornado devastated the town March 11, 1923, destroying homes, businesses and churches. The descriptions reported by the Southeast Missourian of that cyclone's path and its aftermath are eerily similar to Tuesday's storm...

Battle's anniversary recalls 'Butcher,' rebels (04/26/03)
As the sun rose April 26, 1863, 5,000 Confederate soldiers under Brig. Gen. John Sappington Marmaduke took positions on a battle line on the western edge of Cape Girardeau, poised to attack. Six of the eight companies of rebels under Col. William L. Jeffers were Cape Girardeau County boys, preparing to attack and liberate their own hometown...

Civil War group makes donation of Cape documents to Kent (04/25/03)
In the spring of 1863, Brig. Gen. John McNeil and others issued many orders from the 56th Regiment, Enrolled Missouri Militia, headquartered in Cape Girardeau. Among them was an order for women and children to be escorted from the fort to steamers before the beginning of the battle...

Scott City centennial is almost forgotten (04/18/03)
When Norman Brant came before the city council in Scott City recently to discuss his proposal to establish a city flag, he mentioned that the flag would commemorate the city's founding 100 years ago. "This is the first we've heard about that," Mayor Tim Porch said...

Former Cape mayors come for rare meeting at city hall (02/21/03)
Cape Girardeau's mayors have survived everything from floods to funding fights to constituent complaints, all within the fish bowl of city government where every bang of the gavel can bring debate. Mayor Jay Knudtson said it's time to recognize the accomplishments of his seven predecessors who led the city over the past 37 years in both financially good times and bad. ...

Historic Jackson building to be demolished (02/12/03)
In 1888, the year when a fire burned down several uptown businesses in Jackson, a building at the corner of West Main and what is now called Missouri Street was worth fighting for. According to Jackson's historical lore, one of Jackson's first prominent businessmen, Charles Welling, tossed wet quilts and curtains atop the building to keep the shingles from catching on fire...

Restoration of schoolhouse scheduled; artifacts sought (02/12/03)
Daily Dunklin Democrat CAMPBELL, Mo. -- The restoration of an old Dunklin County schoolhouse near Campbell will begin this year. The restoration is a project of the Crowley's Ridge Scenic By-Way committee. When completed, the school building which is located on Highway WW north of Campbell, will reflect rural education in the early 20th century...

Old St. Vincent's Church named tourist destination (01/03/03)
Huge columns ascend from the floor to a ceiling, more than 20 feet high. Carved faces atop the columns accentuate the gothic design, and 14 Stations of the Cross -- individual scenes of the crucifixion -- line the walls. Brilliant chandeliers dangle from the ceiling and add luminance to some natural light tinted by stained-glass windows...

Cape County Archive Center creating book about old schools (12/30/02)
The Cape Girardeau County Archive Center is in the process of creating a book about the old schools of Cape Girardeau County. Anyone interested in these old schools is invited to attend a meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, at the Archive Center...

Missouri's Civil War history revealed in new online resource (12/26/02)
ST. LOUIS -- A vast, virtually unexamined National Archives collection on Missouri's Civil War history is now accessible to Civil War buffs, genealogists and other researchers, thanks to an online resource created by the State Archives. Staff and volunteers are indexing a voluminous collection of legal documents, narratives and correspondence that tells the story of ordinary Missourians during the most fractious time in U.S. history, State Archivist Kenneth Winn said...

Old Haarig building may be torn down (12/26/02)
The Cape Girardeau building that once housed a saloon and later Miller & Fischer Grocery may be torn down. The building at 635 Good Hope, the southeast corner of Good Hope and Sprigg streets, is one of the oldest in the Haarig District. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, German immigrants to Cape Girardeau congregated in an area south of Good Hope Street known as Haarig. ...

Book on history of Jackson arrives in time for holiday (12/22/02)
Written by, about and for local families, a new Jackson history book is an account of how the community sees itself, rather than through the eyes of an outside historian. "Anyone who has been here any length of time, two weeks to a hundred years, could be in this book," said Cathi Stoverink, history book coordinator. "Some families go all the way back to coming over to the United States in the early 1800s, but then there are also families like Jerry and I who started in 1975."...

Small museum displays rare Illinois pottery (12/15/02)
COBDEN, Ill. -- "People come here and they're just amazed at how much we have," said Sue Brumleve as she led a visitor through the Cobden Museum. Like many other small historical museums, the one at Cobden has a diverse collection of pioneer artifacts, mounted animals, local memorabilia and the like...

New owner sought for landmark home in Ste. Genevieve (12/09/02)
STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- One of the oldest private homes in Missouri's oldest city is up for sale. It wasn't supposed to be that way. Bernard Schram, 86, and his wife, Vion Schram, 90, had planned to deed the Jean Baptiste Valle home in Ste. Genevieve to the community. But declining health and mounting medical bills have changed their mind...

Coloring book of Cape landmarks promotes local history (11/28/02)
It's almost time to add some Crayola to Cape Girardeau's colorful history. The Cape Girardeau Historical Preservation Commission is in the process of printing 4,000 copies of a coloring book that will feature several of the city's historical landmarks. The goal is to make children aware of Cape Girardeau's historical buildings...

Businesses change, but building remains (11/25/02)
What was once the John A. Vandeven Dry Goods & Groceries store at the corner of Harmony and Pacific and most recently the Craftsman Office Supply Co. at the same corner of Broadway and Pacific is getting yet another face-lift. Grace Parry, owner of A Touch of Grace Herb Shop and Grace Cafe, will be moving her businesses to the old Craftsman/Vandeven site in January...

Rediscovered sidewalk, bell memories of Southern Illinois (11/24/02)
EWING, Ill. -- Some people might have seen the discovery as nothing more than an old brick sidewalk covered by 6 to 8 inches of dirt and grass. Gordon Carpenter, however, saw it as a bright pathway that showcased this Franklin County community's history...

Cape looks to smooth kink out of jagged Main Street (11/21/02)
A huge building changed the face of Cape Girardeau in September of 1907. Known as the "old shoe factory," the five-story brick structure near the Mississippi River housed more than 1,200 employees. The building, first run by Robert, Johnson and Rand, and later owned by Florsheim, was a cornerstone to downtown -- so much so that the city built its Main Street around it. At the point where the shoe factory used to be, northbound Main Street took a hard left and then a hard right...

The way it was - Former Cape Choraliers reunite after 50 years (11/17/02)
The 48 singers who called themselves the Cape Choraliers were thrilled when they learned they had been chosen to represent Missouri at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, but the news left them less than a month to raise the $13,000 needed to make the trip. On the night before the plane was to leave, Choraliers and spouses and friends were still going door to door selling donated loaves of bread to make up the last few hundred dollars...

Cape Girardeau woman remembers segregation (11/10/02)
The devastating effects of racial segregation in the public school system are never far from the hearts and minds of one generation of Cape Girardeau area residents. Until 1953, Cape Girardeau was home to one of Southeast Missouri's few black elementary and secondary schools -- John S. Cobb School, a three-story brick structure located at the intersection of Ellis and Merriwether...

Community scrapbook - Businessman William H. Vedder (11/04/02)
William H. Vedder was well-known in the business community of Cape Girardeau for many years, according to his great-niece Jane Bodine of Cape and his obituary that ran in the Southeast Missourian on Dec. 1, 1956. Born Jan. 30, 1869, in Osnabrueck,Germany, Vedder came to America in 1881 and settled in St. ...

The house that Sears built (*some assembly required) (10/29/02)
There's no place like home, particularly when it comes in 30,000 pieces from a Sears mail-order catalog. Gary and Pat Robert have such a house. Built in 1911, the Dutch colonial, two-story frame house at 24 N. Middle St. in Cape Girardeau was assembled from a Sears kit costing about $1,000. The house, which the Roberts bought in 1989 and restored, has been designated by the city as a local landmark...

Blue book provides look at society, government (10/28/02)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The history of Missouri state government is an open book, especially if one has access to old copies of the Official Manual of the State of Missouri, also known as the "Blue Book." Publishing the manual is among the secretary of state's highest-profile duties, and the job has grown through the decades since Secretary of State Alexander A. Leseuer published the State Almanac and Official Directory in 1889...

Tombstone of Dred Scott lawyer found (10/28/02)
ST. LOUIS -- A marble tombstone found at a construction site here once marked the grave of an attorney who represented Dred Scott, a Missouri-born slave whose case for freedom helped push the nation toward the Civil War. David C. Hall and his partner, Alexander P. ...

Ford's orchestra is still swinging (10/25/02)
If there was ever a contest to name a national anthem for swing music, Jerry Ford easily could win. The director of the Jerry Ford Orchestra says that his 11-piece band has more requests for "In the Mood" than any other song they play. Made popular by the Glenn Miller Orchestra during the 1940s, the song is only one of several in the orchestra's repertoire...

The way it used to be - The Bryan Laundries Inc. (10/03/02)
Frances Furhmann of Cape Girardeau was inspired to send in this photo when she saw The Bryan Laundries mentioned in the Southeast Missourian's "Out of the Past" column published on Aug. 20. The photo was taken when Fuhrmann, center, was about 5 years old, which would have been around 1928. ...

Golf course comes with history (09/30/02)
Black bear and elk once roamed here. Sycamores, cottonwoods and cypress trees grew thick. Just left of the five tee boxes pointing toward the 18th green at Dalhousie Golf Club stands a huge oak tree archaeologists believe was a gathering place for people who lived here long ago. Construction of the tee boxes stopped while archaeologists sifted through the earth in a depression near the tees. The spot probably will be fenced off...

What's in a name? (09/30/02)
Missouri has odd-sounding towns, from Braggadocio to Peculiar By SCOTT CHARTON The Associated Press BRAGGADOCIO, Mo. (AP) -- The town name begs the question: Are folks from Braggadocio braggarts? "Naw, we're pretty humble down in these parts, and I know because I've lived here all my life," says farmer Caleb Davis, 59, of Braggadocio, an unincorporated community deep in southeast Missouri's Bootheel. "It IS a memorable name for a town, though."...

Route 66 landmark makes way for runway (09/27/02)
ST. LOUIS -- A motel relic from the 1950s where astronauts once spent the night has turned out its lights for good. The Stanley Cour-tel in suburban Bridgeton has closed to make way for a big new runway at nearby Lambert Airport. The humble but faithful period piece of America's love for the road last week ended its 52 years as a way station along a part of old U.S. Highway 66...

Bollinger County's fossils in spotlight (09/23/02)
MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The Chronister Dinosaur Site near Glenallen, Mo., was discovered in 1942 when the Chronister family found bones while digging a well. Some of the bones discovered are in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Some now are in the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History...

College High School to hold reunion (09/16/02)
Located on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University as a lab school for student teachers, College High School of Cape Girardeau was like a small, rural school inside a city. Though some from town did attend, these were only a handful of students. Most of these came from the outlying areas around Cape...

Framing history- Television turns 75 (09/01/02)
veryone has a television moment he or she will never forget. For some it's a somber one: For 86-year-old Sydney Richards -- and many of her generation -- it is the 1963 assassination of JFK and the subsequent shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald. "I was glued to the television," said Richards of Cape Girardeau. "Everyone was. We were afraid to look away. It was a terrible time."...

The making or breaking of the River Campus (08/24/02)
1989 The grounds for St. Vincent's Seminary are put up for sale, 10 years after the school closed its doors. 1995 A civic group called Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation announces plans to buy the seminary property for $700,000 to house a cultural center or museum. The plans fell through the following year due to lack of funding...

County Extension Service now 90 years old (08/05/02)
Thursday marked the 90th birthday for the Cape Girardeau County Extension Service. Mary Gosche, Human Development Specialist for the Service, said the Extension Service has come a long way since its beginning on Aug. 1, 1912. She said the progress of the Extension Service will be honored at the Extension's Annual Picnic to be held this month...

Top execs at bank leaving to open new facility (08/02/02)
MAYOR'S NEW JOB By Scott Moyers ~ Southeast Missourian Steve Taylor and Jay Knudtson have left their top executive positions at Bank of America to help start a new bank in Cape Girardeau, a move they say will enable them to get away from the specialized world of mega-banking and back to their roots of community-style finance...

50 years down the road - Drivers exams began in Cape in 1952 (08/02/02)
They're eager for a license, but it's the test drive that scares them. That hasn't changed for half a century. Missouri has required driver license exams, both written and behind the wheel, since 1952. Driver exams in Cape Girardeau date back to August of that year...

Bauer Brothers Bakery began in 1898 (08/01/02)
The year was 1920. The Cape Girardeau community was a bustling one, with more than 12,000 people. The city was connected to three railroads -- Illinois Central, Frisco and Cape Girardeau Railway Co. It had an electric street car system, a modern sewer system, and a Bell telephone system. No less than four steamboat lines made frequent stops...

Home is witness to history (07/30/02)
The echoes of cannon fire, gun shots and soldiers struggling in a bitter, bloody conflict were once heard around Four Mile in Dunklin County, Mo. It was here the Union engaged retreating Confederate troops commanded by Gen. John Sappington Marmaduke. While the majority of Marmaduke's forces were entrenched at Four Mile, others began constructing a log bridge to cross the St. Francis River to Chalk Bluff in northeastern Clay County, Ark...

Red House site analysis starts with records (07/29/02)
James McNerney's company conducts archaeological research all over the Midwest, often for companies preparing for construction or for highway projects. This time the company is looking for signs of the man who started Cape Girardeau more than 200 years ago...

Residents of Glenallen prefer old version of town's name (07/29/02)
GLENALLEN, Mo. -- Along the way, somebody forgot to tell the people of Glenallen that the spelling of their town changed. Not that it would matter much, anyway. The two-word spelling is listed in two different phone books. The local newspaper uses the two-word spelling. Even the current postmaster, Louise Acup, thought the spelling was two words for several years before someone presented her with a Bollinger County history book...

History of Missouri's levee system (07/21/02)
The federal levee system up and down the Mississippi was built in reaction to the devastating flood of 1927, when the local levees that already were built were all that saved many people from drowning. Many lived on the levees for months. Commerce secretary Herbert Hoover's championing of the levee project positioned him to win the presidency...

I. Ben Miller - making ice cream history in Southeast Missouri (07/18/02)
Dallas Niswonger has an old "I. Ben Miller" porcelain sign. Niswonger, a collector of Cape Girardeau memorabilia, also has a milk bottle and an ice cream carton from Miller's ice cream emporium. Gail Crites has a couple of I. Ben Miller milk bottles herself...

Photo book documents history of life around Cape (07/06/02)
FROM 1800 TO 1950SBy Jeremy Joffray Southeast Missourian Pat Zellmer has turned her passion for history into a project that all Cape Girardeau residents can enjoy. Under the direction of Zellmer and Gretchen Griggs, the Southeast Missourian will release a pictorial history book of Cape Girardeau showing a chronology from 1800 to the 1950s...<