Rural Heritage Day is a celebration of history, reverie and reminiscence dedicated to the hard working forefathers and foremothers of Ste. Genevieve. Come see how it used to be done – whether it’s farming, cooking, spinning, lace making, leather working, soap making, wood carving, gardening or good old-fashioned games. Watch demonstrations of handicrafts of yesteryear. COST: $3 donation accepted. Stay till the evening and enjoy the “Spirit Reunion” (separate admission fees apply) a local fundraiser that features costumed ‘Spirits’ telling the stories of the early settlers buried there.

Would you like to hear the story of a US Senator who has been buried three different times? A Civil War colonel who died at the battle of Shiloh? Meet up with a modern day spirit of Missouri’s first US Representative? Or “meet” one portraying the well-to-do, or the not so well-to-do, residents of Ste. Genevieve’s history before 1880?
Visitors will experience these stories and more as the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve hosts its annual “Déjà vu Spirit Reunion” in historic Memorial Cemetery. The cemetery, established in 1787, includes the tombs and grave markers of the area’s earliest French pioneers, other European emigrants, African American slaves and freemen, Native Americans and a mass grave for victims of a steamboat explosion. The family friendly living history program provides visitors with an intimate look into the lifestyles and happenings in Missouri’s oldest town during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Tour the cemetery via lantern light and chat “face to face” with friendly spirits clad in traditional dress and enjoy a hauntingly good time.
COST: Adults $10 Children $5
WEBSITE: www.historicstegen.com