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Cape Girardeau, Missouri
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cape Girardeau, Missouri | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Missouri |
| Counties | Cape Girardeau, Scott |
| Area | |
| - Total | 24.3 sq mi (63.0 km²) |
| - Land | 24.3 sq mi (62.9 km²) |
| - Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.1 km²) |
| Elevation | 351 ft (107 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 35,349 |
| - Density | 1,456.5/sq mi (562.4/km²) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code(s) | 573 |
| FIPS code | 29-11242GR2 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0731549GR3 |
Cape Girardeau (pronounced /ˈkʰeɪp dʒəˈɹɑɹdoʊ/) (French: Cap-Girardeau, pronounced 
/kap ʒiʀaʀdo/) is a city located in the county of the same name in Missouri, 115 miles south of Saint Louis. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 35,349. The Cape Girardeau-Jackson, MO-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area embraces Alexander County, Illinois, Bollinger County, Missouri and Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. It is the home of Southeast Missouri State University. The city is not the county seat of Cape Girardeau County as some visitors mistakenly assume. The county seat of Cape Girardeau County is Jackson, Missouri.
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The city is named after Jean Baptiste de Girardot, who established a temporary trading post in the area around 1733; he was a French soldier stationed at Kaskaskia, Illinois, 1704-1720. The Cape in the city name was a rock promontory overlooking the Mississippi River, later destroyed by railroad construction. As early as 1765, a bend in the Mississippi about sixty miles south of the French village of Ste. Genevieve had been referred to as Cape Girardot or Girardeau. The settlement there dates from 1793 when the Spanish government, which had secured Louisiana in 1762, granted Louis Lorimier, a French-Canadian, the right of establishing a trading post. His grant gave him extensive trading privileges and a large tract of land surrounding his post. Lorimier was made commandant of the district and prospered from the returns on his land sales and trade with indigenous peoples such as the Ozark Bluff Dwellers and the Mississippian. The town of Cape Girardeau was incorporated in 1808, prior to Missouri statehood, and was reincorporated as a city in 1843. The advent of the steamboat in 1835 led it to become the biggest port on the Mississippi River between Saint Louis and Memphis.
The Civil War Battle of Cape Girardeau took place on April 26, 1863. The Union and Confederate Armies collided in a fierce, four-hour artillery barrage, on that day, 23 Union and 30 Confederate soldiers were killed.Today, Cape Girardeau is the home to numerous Civil War sites and memorials such as,
- Fort D
- Old Lorimier Cemetery
- Union Monument & Fountain
- Common Pleas Courthouse
- Confederate War Memorial
- Minton House
Since 1964 the city has been protected by a floodwall which saved the city from the Great Flood of 1993. A two-block span of the wall is covered with murals depicting scenes of the history of the area as well as a mural now known as the Missouri Wall of Fame, which depicts famous Missourians of the past and present.
The city is also known to some as "The City of Roses" because of a nine mile stretch of highway that was once lined with dozens of rose bushes. There also used to be many prominent rose gardens around the community. Few of these gardens persist today.
In December of 2003, a new four-lane cable-stay bridge crossing the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau was opened. Its official name is "The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge." The two towers of the bridge reach a height of approximately 91 meters. The old bridge was completed in September 1928 to replace a ferry. It was built for Model-T cars and was only 20 feet wide.[1]
Cape Girardeau is located at (37.309042, -89.546498)GR1.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.4 sq mi (16,875 acres or 68.4 km²).
The "cape" that the city is named after no longer exists. A rock which remains from the previously existing cape can be seen on a promontory which overlooks the Mississippi River in Cape Rock Park.
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 35,349 people, 14,380 households, and 8,297 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,456.5 people per square mile (562.4/km²). There were 15,827 housing units at an average density of 652.1/sq mi (251.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.32% White, 9.30% Black or African American, 1.13% Asian, 0.39% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.10% of the population.
There were 14,380 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.90.
The age distribution is 20.5% under the age of 18, 18.4% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,452, and the median income for a family was $43,917. Males had a median income of $31,575 versus $21,392 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,918. About 8.5% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.
Four of the largest employers in Cape Girardeau are Southeast Missouri Hospital, Saint Francis Medical Center, Procter and Gamble, and Southeast Missouri State University.
Cape Girardeau Regional Airport serves the city.
Cape Girardeau is the home or birthplace of several nationally recognized figures, including:
- Chic Hecht, Jewish Republican United States Senator from Nevada, Military Intelligence Hall of Fame agent and U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas was born in Cape Girardeau
- Talk radio star Rush Limbaugh was born to a prominent family of lawyers in Cape Girardeau; some "dittoheads" make pilgrimages there. [1] Rush's brother, David[2] runs a law firm in the city.
- Rush's cousin Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., a Missouri Supreme Court Judge, also resides in the city.
- Actor Dale Dye was born in Cape Girardeau.
- Writer Terry Teachout was born in Cape Girardeau.
- Dr. Andrew Conway Ivy (1893-1978), medical researcher, president of the American Physiological Society (1939-41), and promoter of the controversial 1950's cancer drug Krebiozen, was raised in Cape Girardeau.
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- The Show Me Center, a joint project of the city and the university, opened in 1987.
- The city has been called "The only inland cape in the world."
- James McMurtry's Song for a Deck Hand's Daughter is set in Cape Girardeau.
- The book Killshot by Elmore Leonard is partly set in Cape Girardeau. In January 2006, some scenes were shot on location for the movie adaptation starring Diane Lane, Thomas Jane, Johnny Knoxville, and Mickey Rourke.
- The city is home to two large, acute-care hospitals: Saint Francis Medical Center established in 1875, and Southeast Missouri Hospital established in 1928.
- When completed, local television station KFVS-TV's tower, for a short period of time, was the world's tallest structure.
- ^ Mary Charlotte Aubry Costello (1995). Climbing the Mississippi River Bridge by Bridge. Mary C. Costello, 48. 0-9644518-1-6.
- City's official website
- Old Town Cape
- Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Southeast Missourian newspaper
- Show Me Center
- LIVE View of Cape Girardeau
- Real Estate Listings for Cape Girardeau
- Cape Girardeau, Missouri is at coordinates Coordinates:
