Editing Cape Girardeau, Missouri (section)

==History==
[[File:Military Map of Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Vicinity, Showing the location of the Forts. Wm. Hoelcke, Captn. ^amp, Addl.... - NARA - 305778.jpg|thumb|left|Map of Cape Girardeau and vicinity, showing location of its forts (September 1865).]]
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, Illinois|Kaskaskia]] between 1704 and 1720 in the French colony of ''[[Louisiana (New France)|La Louisiane]]''. The "[[Capes on the Mississippi River|Cape]]" in the city name referred to a rock promontory overlooking the [[Mississippi River]]; it was later destroyed by railroad construction.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cityofcapegirardeau.org/cityhall/history.aspx | title=History of Cape Girardeau | publisher=City of Cape Girardeau | access-date=April 9, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413091232/http://www.cityofcapegirardeau.org/CityHall/History.aspx | archive-date=April 13, 2014 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref> As early as 1765, a bend in the Mississippi River, about {{convert|60.|mi|km}} south of the French village of [[Ste. Genevieve, Missouri|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 (New Spain)|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 culture|Mississippian people]].

Also in 1793, [[Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondelet|Baron Carondelet]] granted land near Cape Girardeau to the [[Black Bob (Shawnee chief)|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 [[Indian Removal|removal]] to [[Indian Territory]] with the rest of the Shawnee tribe until 1833.<ref name = "access">{{Cite web
| title = Hathawekela Indian Tribe History
| work = Access Genealogy
| access-date = February 17, 2013
| year = 2013
| url = http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/shawnee/hathawekalaindianhist.htm
}}</ref><ref name = "fish">{{Cite web
| title = Johnson-Wallace & Fish-Kirk Family Pedigree Charts Chief Paschal "Pas-Cal-We" Fish
| access-date = February 17, 2013
| date = May 19, 2012
| url = http://www.ffish.com/family_tree/Pedigrees/1462.htm
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
| last = John Mack Faragher
| title = "More Motley than Mackinaw": From Ethnic Mixing to Ethnic Cleansing on the Frontier of the Lower Missouri, 1783–1833
| access-date = February 17, 2013
| year = 1997
| url = http://www.h-net.org/~shear/motley3.htm
}}</ref>

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]].<ref name="Anniversaries 1949">{{cite news | title = Anniversaries in 1949 of Events Recorded in The Missourian Files | work =Southeast Missouri | location = Cape Girardeau, Missouri | date = January 29, 1949}}</ref>

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]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}

During the [[American Civil War|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 [[Cape Girardeau Bridge|bridge]] was completed between Missouri and Illinois. Built to accommodate cars, it was {{convert|20|ft|m}} wide under standards of the time.<ref name="bridge">{{cite book
 | author = Mary Charlotte Aubry Costello
 | year = 1995
 | title = Climbing the Mississippi River Bridge by Bridge
 | publisher = Mary C. Costello
 | isbn = 0-9644518-1-6
 | page = 48
}}</ref>

The Old Federal Courthouse, located at Broadway and Fountain Streets and built in the late 1940s, was the subject of a [[Supreme Court of the United States|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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dimitrakopoulos |first=Dionyssis G. |title=Individual Rights and Liberties Under the U.S. Constitution: The Case Law of the U.S. Supreme Court |location=Boston |publisher=M. Nijhoff |year=2007 |page=820 |isbn=978-90-04-15791-0 }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.semissourian.com/story/3041590.html|title=75-years later: Recollections of the 1949 Cape tornado|access-date=2024-05-26}}</ref> 

In December 2003, the "Old Bridge" was succeeded by a new [[Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge|four-lane cable-stayed bridge]] crossing the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau. Its official name is [https://web.archive.org/web/20050901061948/http://modot.state.mo.us/local/d10/emersonbridge/Emerson-index.html "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 {{convert|91|m}}. 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.achp.gov/preserve-america/community/cape-girardeau-missouri|title=Cape Girardeau, Missouri &#124; Advisory Council on Historic Preservation|website=www.achp.gov}}</ref>

The city is known to some as "The City of Roses" because of a {{convert|9|mi|adj=on}} stretch of highway that was once lined with dozens of rose bushes.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} Although there used to be many prominent [[rose garden]]s 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===
[[File:Cape Girardeau Missouri 1993.jpg|thumb|right|Waterfront of Cape Girardeau along the Mississippi River during the [[Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993|Great Flood of 1993]].]]
Numerous murals commemorate the city's history. The largest is the [[Mississippi River Tales Mural]], located on the city's downtown floodwall. Covering nearly {{convert|18000|sqft|m2}}, 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 [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri|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.<ref>[http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/image/umcscsanic/title/cape+girardeau+missouri Sanborn Maps for Missouri: Cape Girardeau], [[University of Missouri]] Digital Library.  Accessed March 14, 2011.</ref>  Other landmarks include the [[Fort D]] Historic Site and the [[Confederate War Memorial (Cape Girardeau, Missouri)|Confederate War Memorial]].

Among the city's older cemeteries are [[Apple Creek Township, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri|Apple Creek]] Cemetery, Salem Cemetery, and [[Old Lorimier Cemetery]].