National Park Service officials and partnering groups have signed an agreement to establish Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park in Missouri. This is one of the buildings to be preserved/NPS

National Park Service officials have signed general partnership agreements with six agencies and organizations that will be essential to helping the agency establish Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park in Missouri.

According to the Park Service, Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park was authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 enacted on March 23. "The act incorporates by reference Section 7134 of Senate Bill 1460, which authorizes the establishment of Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System 'to preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit of present and future generations the themes of French settlement, vernacular architecture, and community form and farming on the frontier associated with Ste. Genevieve."

According to the National Parks Conservation Association, which supported the park, Ste. Genevieve, which was established in the mid-1700s, "was the first settlement on the west bank of the Mississippi River and is still the only surviving French Colonial village in the U.S."

On the last day of August Midwest Regional Director Cam Sholly, and interim Superintendent Tim Good, were accompanied by U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, and U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, in a signing ceremony with six key partner organizations at Ste. Genevieve. The agreements serve as an initial framework to help promote partnerships and collaboration as the unit continues to develop. The ceremony was held at the Beauvais-Amoreux House, a historic structure in the process of being donated to the Park Service by the State of Missouri.

Officials from the following organizations signed agreements: Missouri Department of Natural Resources, County of Ste. Genevieve, City of Ste. Genevieve, National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Missouri, Foundation for the Restoration of Ste. Genevieve, and the owner of Chaumette, Inc.

“Generations of Ste. Genevieve residents have worked painstakingly to preserve and share this unique part of our nation’s French colonial history,” Senator Blunt said. “Thanks to their efforts, Ste. Genevieve will now be a part of our National Park System. This process took a lot of time and dedication on the part of all involved, and I appreciate their partnership in getting to this step today. I hope even more Americans will take the opportunity to visit Ste. Genevieve and experience the rich history that defines Missouri’s oldest town.”