Louisiana Purchase

As the oldest permanent European settlement in the state of Missouri, Ste. Genevieve is rich in history. And on this particular evening, history comes to life—or perhaps back to life—during the Déjà vu Spirit Reunion at the Memorial Cemetery. 

At Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site in New Madrid, visitors can explore a grand Southern mansion while learning about the families who shaped the development of Missouri's southeastern lowlands for a century and a half. 

The treaty that authorized the Louisiana Purchase was signed on this date in Paris.

This date in Missouri history. The U.S. Senate approves the Louisiana Purchase that adds more than 800,000 acres of land – including what would become Missouri – to more than double the size of the United States.

At a time when the nations of Europe were competing for global control of trade and land, the New World offered the ideal opportunity to fill European coffers and expand their empires. The only problem was that someone already lived here.