GROUNDS OF HISTORIC COMMON PLEAS COURTHOUSE BECOMING MEMORIAL ROW

The grounds of Common Pleas Courthouse long have been a focal point of downtown Cape Girardeau.

An editorial that appeared in the Aug. 16, 1910, edition of the The Daily Republican, forerunner to the Southeast Missourian, provided a glowing description of the area:

"The site of the common pleas court of Cape Girardeau is one of the most beautiful along the Mississippi river, from St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico, its fame extending all over the land, and, although the city may later on have parks that will be larger and more artificially beautiful, yet it will have none that will be so conspicuous to the general public."

Eighty-five years have passed and the block bounded by Lorimier, Spanish, Broadway and Independence, with its scenic view of the river, seems to have lived up to the predictions of that editorial writer.

Considering the historical importance of the site, it is no surprise the grounds have been chosen for various monuments and memorials over the years.

The recent addition of the Confederate Monument raises the number of commemorative markers surrounding the courthouse to 11. Like the new arrival, most are positioned on the Lorimier side of the property.

A plaque describing the grounds itself is a testimonial to its historical significance. The inscription notes the land was ceded to the city by founder Louis Lorimier in 1806 as site for a civic center. The courthouse was built in 1854. Over the years the grounds were for fairs, produce markets, slave auctions and numerous other activities.

The most prominent memorial present is the Memorial Fountain, erected in 1911 -- the 50th anniversary year of the start of the Civil War -- by Woman's Relief Corps of the Grand Army of the Republic after a five-year fund-raising effort. The fountain, which is topped by a Union soldier, was meant to honor those who followed the Union banner.

It was originally dedicated during a May 30, 1911, ceremony attended by Missouri Gov. Herbert Hadley. It was restored and rededicated July 4, 1961, and again refurbished and re-rededicated on Nov. 7, 1982.

Now a companion piece to Memorial Fountain, the Confederate Monument sits a short distance away.

Financed by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, it was dedicated Nov. 22, 1931, in the plaza just west of the Mississippi River bridge on Morgan Oak Street. The 14.5-foot-tall, 12.5-ton obelisk made from Georgia silver-gray marble was moved for fear that it was being forgotten and would eventually fall in disrepair. It will be rededicated Nov. 11, Veterans Day.

Many of the markers in the park memorialize Cape Girardeau residents, with two recognizing the sacrifices of city police.

One is in remembrance of Police Chief Nathaniel Jefferson Hutson, 49, who was shot to death Oct. 7, 1922, while attempting to arrest a fugitive. Hutson's assailant was immediately killed by another officer. The marker was erected by the Lions Club May 22, 1938.

A similar plaque mounted on a stone was placed by the Exchange Club of Cape Girardeau in 1962 for Patrolman Donald H. Crittendon and Auxiliary Officer Herbert L. Goss.

The two officers died following a gun battle in Town Plaza Shopping Center March 10, 1961. Gross, 67, died the same day while Crittendon, 24, lingered for 11 days. Crittendon planned to resign from the department and was in his final day on the force when the shootout took place.

One of their assailants died in Missouri's gas chamber in 1963. Another was sentenced to die but his convictions were twice overturned. He was finally sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1963.

Other Cape Girardeans represented are band leaders Dr. C.E. Schuchert and William Adam Shivelbine, both of whom are memorialized by plaques on the old bandshell.

Schuchert (1869-1931) headed Schuchert's Concert Band from 1905-07, and 1913-17. He led the 6th Regiment Band of the Missouri National Guard from 1908-12 and the 140th Infantry Band of the U.S. Army from 1917-18. His concert band became the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band from 1919-30.

A dentist, manager of the Opera House on Broadway and a city commissioner, in 1926 he worked to get the Missouri General Assembly to pass legislation authorizing cities to levy a tax to support town bands.

Shivelbine (1890-49) also directed the Municipal Band. He wrote the Central High pep song "Dear Old Central High" in 1931. He was a partner is the business, which eventually became Shivelbine's Music Store.

A sundial next the former city library and present Courthouse Annex marks the service of William F.D. Batjer, president of the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club. Batjer, 71, was killed in a car accident Dec. 28, 1937, while returning from a Christmas holiday with relatives in Texas. The sundial was dedicated May 22, 1938.

The three remaining memorials:

-- Marker remembering the Sesquicentennial Celebration of the city's founding held Aug. 19-25, 1956. Underneath was a time capsule containing records and documents to be opened during the city's bicentennial in 2006. However, the capsule was opened in 1993 when the bicentennial was changed to reflect the arrival of Louis Lorimier instead of the actual founding of the city.

-- Concrete Street 50 Year Service Award. The lone marker on the Spanish Street side, it was erected Oct. 2, 1962, by the Portland Cement Association to commemorate the golden anniversary of the first streets paved with concrete in Missouri. A total of nine blocks comprising parts of Frederick, Broadway, Spanish and Independence were paved in 1912.

-- Tree of El Tule. The tree, a Montezuma cypress obtained from a nursery in Texas, was planted June 29, 1962, by Fred and George Naeter, former publishers of the Southeast Missourian. The tree is said to be a sapling from the tree of El Tule in Mexico. The tree of El Tule is speculated to be over 5,000 years old, the oldest tree in the world. A plaque commemorating the Naeters was erected under the tree in 1991.