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Florissant Celebrating 225 Years As a City ‘Government’ on Nov. 18
St. Francois at Lafayette streets (circe 1900)
The same intersection as above (St. Francois and Lafayette) taken last week. Bob Lindsey photo
By Carol Arnett
Florissant Mayor Tom Schneider is excited about the 225 year celebration in Florissant. “Those who know our history savor it and want to celebrate it,” Schneider said. “Those who don’t know about it can begin to appreciate it through celebrations like this.”
Celebrations like this, Schneider said, “show why we’re proud of our history.” Schneider, who has a personal interest in history, added, “and it’s really interesting.”
The city is celebrating this 225 anniversary this Friday, Nov. 18 at St. Ferdinand Shrine and the Knights of Columbus hall. The grounds will be “light up” and there will be food, events, and two plaque dedications.
Rosemary Davison and Kay Spring, with Historic Florissant, have studied the city’s history. Davison said that it’s important to remember that the city is celebrating 225 years of government. “The people came first,” she said, “and then set up a government.” This government was a trusteeship. In the trusteeship, multiple trustees were responsible for the city.
Why did these settlers feel the need to set up a trusteeship? Davison said that the first settlers probably came up Coldwater Creek from the Missouri River. The first settlement was along Coldwater Creek, probably near where St. Ferdinand Shrine is now. Two hundred and twenty-five years ago, there were about 40 settlers. Some, Davison said, lived on nearby farms.
“The land was rich and fertile,” she said. It would be likely to attract even more settlers. “With people comes the need for rules,” Davison said, so the settlers set up the trusteeship.
The first settlers were French. Many of the settlers were farmers, hunters and trappers.
One of the oldest buildings in Florissant, Davison said, is the log portion of Taille de Noyer, built in the late 1700s. She said that there is a legend that Casa Alvarez was built in 1780, but Davision thinks it was built in the early 1800s.
In 1819, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne arrived and set up her school. There were two schools, a boarding school for wealthy girls of the surrounding area and a day school for village children.
German immigrants began arriving in the 1840s. They established Sacred Heart parish in 1866. “They were tired of hearing all the sermons at St. Ferdinand in French,” Davison said. Up until after World War I, masses were offered in French at St. Ferdinand and German at Sacred Heart. Each church had a school, and they were dismissed at different times to discourage fighting between the French and German children.
In 1857, the city received a charter for the state of Missouri. “It remained a sleepy village until after World War II,” Davison said. “The land was flat and it was easy to lay out subdivisions.”
Schneider will dedicate two plaques, one for Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet, S.J. at 6 p.m. and one for St. Rose Philippine Duchesne at 6:15. There will be a special St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Feast Day Mass immediately following the dedications.
