We regret to inform you that due to the need to help contain the COVID19 virus, the Centre for French Colonial Life, including the Centre, the Bolduc House, the LeMeilleur House, and the Linden/Hands-on House are closed to the public until further notice.

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Please be Aware that the opening of the new special exhibit, "The American Revolutionary War in the West," which was scheduled to open in May 2020, will open at a later date, to be announced.

 

All public programs, including Homeschool Tuesdays, Hands-on Saturdays, and Living History are likewise cancelled.

 

 

 

Welcome to The Centre for French Colonial Life,  featuring the Bolduc LeMeilleur, and Vallé historic properties and its orientation and exhibits facility at 198 Market St., at the corner of Market and Second Streets in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. 

 

The campus of the Centre for French Colonial Life was founded by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Missouri, and is now owned and managed by French Colonial America, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to education, research, and preservation.

 

Admission to the Centre for French Colonial Life orientation and exhibits facility is free. Tickets for guided tours of the Bolduc and LeMeilleur houses are $10 for adults and $5 for children, and may be purchased at the Centre for French Colonial Life orientation and exhibits facility.

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Thank you to our new sponsors and partners: Jenkins & Kling for sponsorship of the Living History Program, and Mississippi Lime for major assistance with maintenance on the Bolduc House.

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Museum hours are:

• Monday through Saturday, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

• Sunday, from Noon to 5:00 PM

• PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE CLOSED ON THANKSGIVING, CHRISTMAS EVE, CHRISTMAS DAY, NEW YEAR'S EVE AND NEW YEAR'S DAY

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The museum campus, consisting of five late-18th and early 19th century historic structures — as well as the new exhibits and education building — tells the story of early French settlement in the upper Mississippi valley, and the development of a unique French Creole culture in this region, even during the time period when it was controlled by Spain, and later by the United States after the Louisiana Purchase.  Our programs  will introduce visitors to the stories of the people and processes that contributed to French Creole culture in this region, the importance of Spanish control, and the archaeology of French Creole settlements such as St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve and various sites in the Illinois country. 

 

For more information, please call us at 573-883-3105.