Customer Reviews

Colonial Ste. Genevieve: An Adventure on the Mississippi Frontier

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ekberg's "Colonial Ste. Genevieve" still stands as the ultimate scholarly work on Ste. Genevieve. While Ekberg's demolition of many old wivestales about the city's history generates the most talk among locals, this is just a footnote to the true value of his work.Through locating and translating thousands of Spanish and French documents from the colonial period, Ekberg succeeds in bringing the period to life and presents the most accurate picture to date of what life must have been like in colonial Ste. Genevieve.Like a compressed computer file, Ekberg somehow squeezes an unfathomable amount of information into this work. Yet it reads quickly and enjoyably. So many inticing issues are addressed: black-white, Indian-white relationships, family structure, economics, religion, romance, etc.Two books should be read by anyone interested in Ste. Genevieve (or French Colonial history in Mo.): Gregory M. Franzwa's "The Story of Old Ste. Genevieve," and Ekberg's chronicle.

Colonial Ste. Genevieve provides an excellent view of Eighteenth Century life in Ste. Genevieve, in particular and in French North-America in general. Founded in the early 1750s, not 1735 as popular history records, the story of Ste. Genevieve provides a view into the changing life in the Mississippi Valley as French gave way to Spanish colonialism and American ways took over, first at the governmental level and, gradually socially as the population changed from being primarily French to Anglo-American. The story of Ste. Genevieve mirrors the story of other French settlements in the area, such as Cahokia, Kaskaskia and St. Louis.

From his role as a European history professor, Carl Eckberg relates events in Ste. Genevieve to developments in Europe which affected the town.

His book is divided into various topics, such as relationships between settlers and Indians, the role of slavery in the community, the economy based in agriculture and lead mining, health care, town and regional government and church organization.

For anyone interested in French colonial life in the heart of America, Colonial Ste. Genevieve is a worthwhile read.

Many have written about Ste. Genevieve, MO, the oldest permanent European settlement in what once was the Upper Louisiana Territory. No one has created a more insightful or more scholarly look at 18th century life in the small Mississippi River town, however, than Carl J. Ekberg has done in his Colonial Ste. Genevieve.

Ekberg uses his expertise in 17th and 18th century European politics to connect the villagers of Ste. Genevieve with the larger world around them. He examines the daily lives of the hardy French Creole (that is, those born in North America, of French ancestry) settlers, probing family, business, religious and slave/master relationships, as well as the settlers' means of making a living and defending themselves from Indian or Anglo attack or from the dangerous Mississippi. The mighty river forced the inhabitants to relocate two miles uphill from the original townsite, late in the 18th century.

Ekberg is best known in Missouri for debunking a number of old myths, such as the town being founded in 1735 or before (He establishes its founding at shortly before 1750.) and the move to the new townsite being made almost en masse, right after the disastrous summer flood of 1785. (He has translated thousands of Spanish letters and documents, confirming that the move took nearly a decade and had started even before the flood, due to widespread erosion of the riverbank.) He also tackles "puffed-up" dates on historic homes in the town, which now relies on heritage tourism for economic growth. These findings have made him unpopular in some Ste. Genevieve circles. They have also marked him as the most important scholar to research the town.

Despite his scholarly prowess and the intimidating inch and a half depth of the book spine, this book is a reward for the reader, not a punishment! Ekberg is no academic hack. His prose flows gracefully, often reading more like a historical romance novel than a history book. For anyone with an interest in French or Spanish Colonial settlements in the Louisiana Territory, or in the history of Missouri, this is a must-buy and must-read. Ste. Genevieve was and is a unique community and Ekberg's is the defining scholarly work on the town.

This book is a masterpiece of solid research and years of hard, diligent effort. Thank you for writing this book.

I read the work from an entirely different perspective than most. This was home for a number of years. Unlike many history books, this book is an easy and enjoyable journey. More so, if you know the town. Names, places, and historical events are put in perspective for the reader. At times, I felt like I was walking in the footsteps of the founders from the "Big Field" to the current town square.

Do read the companion work about Francois Valle. While Ste. Genevieve never grew to the stature of St. Louis, it's historical and economic importance at the time is undeniable.

If you wish to know more about the lives and times of the people in this area before it was part of the USA, it's a great place to start.

Thanks again for an enjoyable book!