Cape Girardeau County archives center receives grants

JACKSON, Mo. -- The Cape Girardeau County Archive Center will use two state grants totaling $3,486 to create an index of old Common Pleas court records and further train staff.

The secretary of state's office announced the grants on Thursday.

Jane Jackson, director of the archive center, said $2,800 in grant money will be used to develop a paper and computerized index of court records dating from 1805 to 1808. A second grant of $686 will be spent on staff training.

At this point, no index exists and records must be read totally to glean information, she said.

"With this index, it is going to be an asset in doing research," she said.