Old St. Ferdinand Shrine
|
St. Ferdinand's Shrine Historic District
|
|
 |
|
 
|
|
| Location | Between Cold Water and Fountain Creeks, Florissant, Missouri |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°47′47″N 90°20′2″W / 38.79639°N 90.33389°WCoordinates: 38°47′47″N 90°20′2″W / 38.79639°N 90.33389°W |
| Built | 1819 |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| MPS | St. Ferdinand City MRA |
| NRHP Reference # | 79003759 |
| Added to NRHP | September 12, 1979 |
Old St. Ferdinand Shrine and Historic Site is located at no. 1 rue St. Francois, Florissant, Missouri, and is owned, preserved, maintained and protected by the non-profit organization, Friends of Old St. Ferdinand Inc. The Shrine and Historic Site consists of four historic buildings on their original locations: the 1819 Convent, 1821 Church, 1840 Rectory and 1888 Schoolhouse.
The Convent, Church, and Rectory may be visited for historic tours and religious pilgrimages. The Schoolhouse may be used for public or private gatherings. Artifacts from virtually every era in Old St. Ferdinand's history are on display in the museum and throughout the buildings.
The site represents a physical link to American pioneer times, the North American Jesuit Missions to the Native Americans as well as the home of Catholic education in the Midwest. The 1819 Convent is the site of first Catholic school between the Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains. The 1821 Church is the oldest church building built between the Mississippi River and Rockies Mountains. It was the home of the region's only canonized Catholic saint, Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne.
Around 1767, just a few years after Pierre Laclede and August Chouteau established the fur-trading village of St. Louis, French plantation owners settled in an area they called "Fleurissant."
In 1782, August Chouteau named François Dunegant the "Commandant of Fleurissant and charged him with protecting the settlement from Indian attacks. The Louisiana Territory had been ceded to Spain in 1763 and a 1788 census identified the settlement as "St. Ferdinand" with a population of 40 with seven plantations. At that time, Dunegant issued a land grant to establish a church and priest's residence.
Local carpenter, Hyacenthe Deshetres oversaw the construction of the church. Two years later, Father Bernard de Limpach, a Capuchin friar, began serving as the first pastor. The church was built on the current site of Spanish Land Grant Park, on the southeast corner of the block bounded by rue St. Charles, rue St Ferdinand, rue St. Louis and rue St. Denis. A parish cemetery was located next to the log church. The church was the center of ecclesiastical and civic life in St. Ferdinand de Fleurissant. Inside the church the sacraments were administered, devotions practiced and sermons delivered. The area outside the doors of the church was used for proclamations, business and real-estate transactions and meetings of a public nature. The old log church finally burned in 1836.
...
Wikipedia