The city is named after Jean Baptiste de Girardot, who established a temporary
trading post in the area around 1733. He was a French soldier stationed at
Kaskaskia between 1704 and 1720 in the French colony of
La Louisiane. The "
Cape" in the city name referred to a rock promontory overlooking the
Mississippi River; it was later destroyed by railroad construction. As early as 1765, a bend in the Mississippi River, about south of the French village of
Ste. Genevieve, had been referred to as Cape Girardot or Girardeau (both pronounced the same in French). The settlement of Girardeau is said to date from 1793 when the Spanish government, which had acquired
Louisiana in 1764 following the French defeat in the
Seven Years' War, granted
Louis Lorimier, a French-Canadian, the right to establish a trading post. This gave him trading privileges and a large tract of land surrounding his post. Lorimier was made commandant of the district and prospered from the returns on his land sales and trade with indigenous peoples, such as the Ozark Bluff Dwellers and the
Mississippian people. Also in 1793,
Baron Carondelet granted land near Cape Girardeau to the
Black Bob Band of the
Hathawekela Shawnee, who had migrated from across the Mississippi River. The Band became known as the Cape Girardeau Shawnee. They successfully resisted
removal to
Indian Territory with the rest of the Shawnee tribe until 1833. In 1799, American settlers founded the first English school west of the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau at a landmark called Mount Tabor, named by the settlers for the Biblical
Mount Tabor. The town of Cape Girardeau was incorporated in 1808, prior to Missouri statehood. It was reincorporated as a city in 1843. The advent of the
steamboat in 1835 and related river trade stimulated the development of Cape Girardeau as the biggest port on the Mississippi River between
St. Louis, Missouri and
Memphis, Tennessee. During the
Civil War, the city was the site of the
Battle of Cape Girardeau on April 26, 1863. The Union and Confederate armies engaged in a minor four-hour skirmish, each sustaining casualties generally believed to be in the low double-digits. For years travelers had to use ferries to cross the Mississippi River from Cape Girardeau. In September 1928 a
bridge was completed between Missouri and Illinois. Built to accommodate cars, it was wide under standards of the time. The Old Federal Courthouse, located at Broadway and Fountain Streets and built in the late 1940s, was the subject of a
U.S. Supreme Court case when it was being developed. In
United States v. Carmack, 329 U.S. 230 (1946), the Court upheld the federal government's authority under the
Condemnation Act of 1888 to seize land owned by a state or locality. On May 21, 1949, a large tornado ripped through the city, killing 22 people, hospitalizing 72, and injuring hundreds of people. Temporary shelters were established at Cape Central High School, St. Mary's High School, John Cobb School, and the Knights of Columbus Hall. In December 2003, the "Old Bridge" was succeeded by a new
four-lane, cable-stayed bridge crossing the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau. Its official name is the
Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, honoring former U.S. Rep.
Bill Emerson (R-Mo.) The two towers of the bridge reach a height of approximately . The "Old Bridge" was demolished after the Emerson Bridge opened. The City of Cape Girardeau was recognized in January 2008 by First Lady
Laura Bush as a Preserve America Community for its work in surveying and protecting historic buildings. The city is known to some as "The City of Roses" because of a stretch of highway that was once lined with dozens of rose bushes. Although there used to be many prominent
rose gardens around the community, few of these gardens have been maintained. The city is also known as "Cape Girardeau: Where the River Turns a Thousand Tales," due to the history of the town and the Mississippi River.
Historic landmarks Numerous murals commemorate the city's history. The largest is the
Mississippi River Tales Mural, located on the city's downtown floodwall. Covering nearly , it spans the length of the downtown shopping district and features 24 panels. Behind the floodwall lies the
Riverfront Park of Cape Girardeau Missouri, where riverboats dock and visitors can view the Mississippi River. There are
39 historic sites in Cape Girardeau that are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. Of these, eight are historic districts, such as
Cape Girardeau Commercial Historic District, which was listed in 2000 and includes multiple contributing properties. The growth of the town can be documented through
Sanborn maps, over 80 of which are available online. Other landmarks include the
Fort D Historic Site and the
Confederate War Memorial. Among the city's older cemeteries are
Apple Creek Cemetery, Salem Cemetery, and
Old Lorimier Cemetery. ==Geography==