The Cape Girardeau city government will celebrate 200 years of incorporation today at a ceremony at the Red House Interpretive Center.

The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. with an announcement of the festivities by the town crier understudy, James Baughn. Kent Bratton, former city planner for Cape Girardeau, will be featured as the speaker. He will outline the history of the platting and the incorporation of the city.

This year's celebration differs from previous bicentennials celebrated in the city because it recognizes 200 years to the day — July 23, 1808 — the city government was legally recognized by the federal government.

In 2006, the Red House celebrated the donation of land by Louis Lorimier in 1806 for the public to build a courthouse. The Red House celebrated that event with a re-enactment.

In 1993, the city celebrated the bicentennial appointment of Lorimier by the Spanish government as commandant of the Cape Girardeau District, one of five territorial districts under Spanish control at the time of Lorimier's appointment in 1793.

"He was the law," said Jane Randol Jackson, co-founder of the Red House and former director of the Cape Girardeau Archive Center.

The French reclaimed the territory west of the Mississippi in 1800 after the Treaty of San Ildefonso; they then sold it to the United States government 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 rename the area "Lorimont" during his tenure, but the name never stuck.

The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. today. Brenda Schloss, chairwoman of the board for the Red House, said ginger cakes and poundcakes will be served at the birthday celebration all day until the Red House closes at 4 p.m. Tours of the Red House will also be given.

tthomas@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 197

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