CHRISTIANITY CAME TO CAPE GIRARDEAU AS EARLY AS 1699

ALL SMILES: Smiles light the faces of the Rev. Ben H. Cleaver, retired minister, and the Rev. Wallace Ward, paster of St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau as Kivie Kaplan, national president of the NAACP, speaks to the local chapter and the community on Aug. 9, 1967. At the back is the church's junior choir. The St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1867-68. Services were first held across the street from the current church at 516 North St. In 1875, the congregation erected a new brick building. (SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN)

CHURCHES ADD TO HISTORY OF CITY: The First Christian Church of Cape Girardeau was organized in 1890. It grew out of a bible class held each Sunday in the Opera House. On Feb. 22, 1891, about 30 people met to formally organize a Christian Church Mission. Top left, the congregation purchased this building at the corner of Sprigg and Themis in 1906. It was used until the current building was constructed in 1955 on North West End Blvd. At left, B'Nai Israel Synagogue was dedicated on March 20, 1938 on Main Street. David Minnen was elected the first president. The synagogue still operates in the same location today. (JUDITH ANN CROW COLLECTION)

Christianity came to what is now Cape Girardeau as early as 1699, when three Catholic priests ventured down the Mississippi River from Quebec to do missionary work among the Indians.

Historical accounts say the three priests landed near the mouth of what is now Cape LaCroix Creek, also known by its Spanish name, LaCruz, hence LaCruz Street in South Cape Girardeau.

The priests erected a cross, prayed and sang hymns at the foot of the cross in what was the first known religious service ever held in Cape Girardeau. To commemorate the 1699 event, a concrete cross and bronze plaque were erected in 1947 near the intersection of what is now north Kingshighway and Kingsway Drive.

For the next 100 years, the Catholic Church was the only organized religion in the Louisiana Territory that took in Missouri. By order of the king of Spain, no Protestant was permitted to enter the region. However, by the time Don Louis Lorimier was granted land by the Spanish crown to settle Cape Girardeau, neither Lorimier nor the Spanish governors at New Orleans paid little attention to the royal ban and welcomed non-Catholics to Louisiana.

Because of the ban on Protestants, Catholicism gained a firm foothold in the Upper Louisiana Territory, far ahead of any other denomination.

It is no surprise, then, that the first organized church in Cape Girardeau was a Catholic church. In 1833, the Vincentian fathers purchased a tract of land just south of Cape Girardeau from Ralph Dougherty and established a mission. Later, the now-closed St. Vincent's Seminary was built on the site, located along Morgan Oak. At first, Catholic services were held in Dougherty's home. Later, a storeroom was purchased and remodeled for religious services.

The mission became a congregation in 1836, with 87 members. The parish grew rapidly and it became necessary to build a new church along what is now South Main Street. The first St. Vincent's Church was dedicated on July 29, 1839. When the 1850 tornado struck south Cape Girardeau, it severely damaged the church, forcing the parish to construct a new church on the same site. It was dedicated on July 19, 1852, and still stands as one of the historic churches in Cape Girardeau.

In December 1976, the parish dedicated a new St. Vincent's Church at 741 Forest. At first, it was feared the old St. Vincent's would be demolished, but a community wide-effort to preserve the historic building resulted in its being designated a "chapel of ease" in December 1977.

What is believed to be the first Protestant church in Cape Girardeau was a small, plain brick First Baptist Church, built in 1839. The church was located on the west side of Lorimier Street, just down and opposite the former Cape Girardeau Public Library building in Courthouse Park. The large stones of the foundation and concrete stairs can still be seen.

This building was used until it was replaced by a new church, built in the 1890s, at the corner of Broadway and Spanish. In 1927, the congregation sold the Spanish Street building and moved to its present edifice at 926 Broadway.

The first Methodist Church west of the Mississippi was organized about 1806 at McKendree Chapel, now located at the edge of Jackson. The name honors the first native-born preacher to be named a Methodist bishop. The church was built in 1808, and made of hand-hewn poplar logs in an oak grove near a spring. The McKendree Chapel became famous for the many camp meetings held on the old campground after 1850.

In 1932, the McKendree Chapel Association was formed to restore and preserve the old building. It now appears much the way it did in 1818.

The first Lutheran Church in the Cape Girardeau area was organized in 1846 by the Rev. A. Lehman. Today, Hanover Lutheran Church, located on Perryville Road, is considered the "Mother Church" of all other Missouri-Synod Lutheran churches in the Cape Girardeau area, including Trinity, organized in 1854 at Cape Girardeau, and Trinity at Egypt Mills; St. Paul's at Jackson, Eisleben at Scott City, and churches at Tilset and Gordonville.

The first Hanover Lutheran Church was built in 1854 and used until a newer building was dedicated in 1887. In 1969, the congregation dedicated its current structure, and most recently completed a new addition to the church.

The Presbyterian Church of Cape Girardeau was first organized with eight members on March 1, 1835. At first, the members met in a private home. By 1839, the church had become inactive. It was reorganized on June 8, 1850 by a commission of the Potosi Presbytery. The first house of worship was completed in 1854. It was a two-story brick structure, located on the southeast corner of Broadway and Lorimier.

The sanctuary was on the second floor. The first floor was used for Sunday School on Sunday, and by the Cape Girardeau Academy for Boys during the week. Early accounts also say the same basement was used for the first public school in Cape Girardeau.

The church's bell was on a wooden tower, at the northwest corner of the church. In addition to callings members to worship, the bell was also used by the Good Intent Fire Company as a fire alarm. During the Civil War, the church membership declined when Southern sympathizers left. But the church managed to survive.

In March 1903, First Presbyterian Church dedicated its second house of worship at the current location. A religious education wing was added in 1929. A new edifice - the current structure - was used for the first time in 1966.

In 1863, the St. James Society was organized in Cape Girardeau. Later, between 1867-1868, the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in Cape Girardeau. Services were first held across the street from the current church, located at 516 North St. In 1875, the congregation erected a new brick building.

In 1824, an Episcopal minister from Maryland came to Cape Girardeau, where he read services and baptized people. However no church was organized. Between 1824 and 1868, intermittent Episcopal services were held by lay persons.

On Sept. 18, 1877, the cornerstone was laid for a small brick church located on the northwest corner of Fountain and Themis. The cost of construction was $3,500. A rectory was built in 1904. In 1946, it was moved to make way for a new Parish House, which was completed in 1948.

The First Christian Church of Cape Girardeau was organized as early as 1890. It grew out of a Bible class held each Sunday in the Opera House. On Feb. 22, 1891, about 30 people met there to formally organize a Christian Church Mission. In 1893, the congregation purchased a building on the corner of Bellevue and Middle streets. In 1906, the church purchased the building owned by Centenary Methodist Church on the northeast corner of North Sprigg and Themis. It was used until the church completed its new building in May 1955, at the corner of North End Boulevard and Dunklin.

In 1919, the Jewish community in Cape Girardeau conducted its first High Holiday services in the Cape Girardeau Elk's Building. On Dec. 14, 1921, the B'Nai B'rth Lodge was chartered with Louis Hecht as president. The lodge was founded mainly through the efforts of Hecht, David Minnen and Jake Pollack.

For a number of years the lodge meetings and religious services were held in various locations, the last was in the community building in the old Fairgrounds (Capaha) Park. After the community building burned on Feb. 11, 1937, the group decided to build a synagogue. Support for the new building came from citizens of all faiths in the city.

On March 20, 1938, the B'Nai Israel Synagogue was publicly dedicated, with David Minnen elected as the first president.