Mississippi River Tales mural
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Settling the land: This mural depicts Louis Lorimier, right, and his secretary, Bartholomew Cousin, in 1793 as they talk about land grants and distribution of land. Lorimier was sent to Cape Girardeau by the Spanish government to establish a military post and was granted rights to develop and settle the land. Cousin was an engineer and surveyor who platted Cape Girardeau. The post grew under Lorimier, and in 1806 he donated four acres to establish a seat of justice. Two years later, Cape Girardeau became a city. In the back of the mural is Lorimier's house, now known as the Red House.
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Lorimier greets Lewis: Louis Lorimier again is featured on a mural. This time the year is 1803, and he is greeting Meriwether Lewis. Lewis and William Clark passed through Cape Girardeau in November 1803 and caught Lorimier while he was at a horse race. Lewis described his visit to the city in his journals and described Lorimier in detail, including his dark hair that was long enough to touch the ground.
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The Louisiana Purchase treaty, signed in 1803, marked the United States' purchase of more than 800,000 miles of French land for about $15 million. The man in the bath is French military leader and future emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. According to Napoleon’s brother, Lucien, both he and other brother Joseph visited Napoleon to convince him not to sell the Louisiana Territory. Reportedly, Napoleon was in the bath at the time of the visit and, after splashing his brothers with water, said he would sell the territory to the United States.
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The mural is about Missouri statehood, which took place in 1821. The whale and lighthouse represent the state of Maine, while the riverboat and Mississippi River represent Missouri. Maine and Missouri came into the Union as part of the Missouri Compromise, which balanced the number of free states and slave states in the Union. Maine entered the Union as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. The green figure is the legendary keelboatman, Mike Fink.
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