Cape city government turns 200

With cries of "Oyez! Oyez!" from understudy town crier James Baughn, the Cape Girardeau city government celebrated 200 years of incorporation Wednesday at a ceremony at the Red House Interpretive Center.

Roughly 50 residents and city officials attended the 10 a.m. ceremony. Guest speaker Kent Bratton, former city planner for Cape Girardeau, outlined the process of the platting and the incorporation of the city.

After the speech, the Red House opened for building tours with maps of the original city plat on display. Ginger cakes, poundcakes and fruitcakes based on early 19th-century recipes were served to celebrate the city government's birthday.

Wednesday's celebration differed from previous bicentennials for the city since it honored the first recognition of the city government by the federal government July 23, 1808.

In 2006, the Red House celebrated the 200th anniversary of the filing of the initial plat of the city with a re-enactment of the filing. When referring to the historical foundation of the city, Feb. 3, 1806, is the date traditionally used, according to a history prepared by Bratton, Jane Randol Jackson, Red House co-founder, and Brenda Schloss, chairwoman for the Red House board.

The city celebrated another bicentennial in 1993 for the appointment of Louis Lorimier by the Spanish government as commandant of the Cape Girardeau District, one of five territorial districts under Spanish control in 1793.

"He was the law," said Jackson, who is also the former director of the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center.

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com Rosemary Oxley played the dulcimer for entertainment Wednesday morning at the Red House Interpretive Center for a celebration marking Cape Girardeau's 200th year as an incorporated city.

The French reclaimed the territory west of the Mississippi in 1800 after the Treaty of San Ildefonso, then sold it to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

Lorimier retained his appointment as commandant until the city's formal incorporation in 1808. According to Jackson, Lorimier wanted to change the name "Cape Girardo" to "Lorimont" during his tenure, but the name never stuck.

tthomas@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 197

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