President Trump is being thanked this week after he designated St. Genevieve, Mo. as a national historic park. The town is a favorite attraction for visitors and boasts many buildings dating to the hamlet’s founding.
The town’s website says, the “village of Ste. Genevieve was settled on the west bank of the Mississippi River in the early 1700’s and is Missouri’s oldest town, filled with historic attractions. Much of historic Ste. Genevieve’s charm and ambiance is due to the remarkable preservation of its original vertical log structures. Its narrow streets and fenced gardens surround some of the most significant eighteenth century architecture in the nation, offering visitors an unparalleled glimpse into its colonial past.”
Sandra Cabot, executive director of the St. Genevieve Welcome Center, hopes the move will boost tourism in the town known for its French colonial architecture.
“They have given the U.S. Department of Interior permission to form a unit of the National Park Service here in St. Genevieve,” she tells KREI radio in Farmington.
The action by the president and supported by Congress, authorizes the National Park Service to acquire about 13 acres of land in the town of 4,500, which includes some historical buildings. Cabot says her group has been seeking the designation for nearly 20 years.
“Of course, we’ve been working on this with them for years. Now that we have that designation by Congress, really everything fits into place from this point forward,” Cabot says.
The move comes after National Park Service study declared dozens of properties in the city and county as historically significant and appropriate for park designation.