STE. GENEVIEVE'S FLOOD BATTLE REMAINS TO BE WON

STE. GENEVIEVE -- For the citizens of historic Ste. Genevieve, the battle of the Flood of 1993 is only half over.

Thanks to their efforts and those of thousands of volunteers from across the nation, countless numbers of sandbags were filled and levees built to protect the town's crown jewel: the priceless, historic French Creole buildings and homes that make Ste. Genevieve -- population 4,400 -- unique.

The town, founded in 1735, was once home to French noblemen and merchants, and briefly to ornithologist John James Audubon. It has the nation's largest collection of French colonial buildings -- 33, some dating to the 1770s.

The $2-million battle to save Ste. Genevieve's historic downtown district attracted nationwide attention of the news media. But now, the floodwaters have receded, volunteers have returned to their homes, and the citizens of Ste. Genevieve face perhaps their most critical battle: recovering from the physical, emotional and financial impact of the great Mississippi River flood.

Although the makeshift levee that was hastily built to protect the downtown area held back the water, water damaged some of the historic buildings, some of which are still used as homes, said Sandy Koller, secretary of the Ste. Genevieve Landmarks Commission.

Said Koller: "There was water damage to the foundations, floors and porches of some of the buildings. Other structures had much more extensive water damage. The Green Tree Tavern and Inn had about two feet of water over the main floor."

The Green Tree, circa 1790, is on St. Mary's Road just south of South Gabouri Creek.

Koller said there was also water in the basements of the Joseph Caron House, circa 1815-1825; the Beauchamp House, circa. 1800-1825; the Bequet-Ribault House, circa. 1808; and the Amoureaux House. circa. 1792.

She said all of the sites have been nominated for placement on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Koller said most of the basement water damage occurred when a levee south of town broke last summer. "Thankfully, the damage wasn't serious," she said. "All we need now is a lot of dry weather."

There was more serious water damage to some of the later homes of French and American architecture, most of which were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. "Some of these homes, which are all privately owned, were severely damaged," said Koller. "Although they are historic homes, they were occupied by their owners. The extent of the damage is putting a strain on these people to repair them unless there is some additional funding available.

"Unfortunately, these people are not getting a lot of attention because of the way their homes are constructed. It's kind of hard to explain to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) that a house with a tin roof and stone foundation is worth repairing."

Koller said the National Trust for Historic Preservation sent a flood-damage survey team -- three French Canadians and three Americans -- to Ste. Genevieve to survey 32 downtown buildings. The team's report has been submitted to the National Trust.

"Now we're waiting to see what happens," said Koller. "We're hoping the report will bring some grant money into Ste. Genevieve to help the people repair the water damage to these buildings. Each site is privately owned, and the owner is more or less responsible for repairing any water damage that occurred. For individual families, this is going to be quite an expense."

While the team was in town they advised those whose historic buildings and homes were damaged how to dry out wet basements and wooden floors and get rid of mold.

Although flood- and water-related damage occurred only in the downtown area, Koller said the entire community suffered from the impact of the flood.

"The flood affected everyone because of the loss of our seven-day-a-week tourist season and the cancellation of the Bastille Day and Jour de Fete celebrations last summer," said Koller. "There was no summer for the people of Ste. Genevieve; we were too busy trying to save our community."

During a typical two-day Jour de Fete in August, more than 600 craftsmen and 50,000 visitors pour into Ste. Genevieve.

Koller said many of the downtown shops and businesses were closed most of the summer and their inventories moved to higher ground because of the threat of the levee breaking. "When your shop or business is closed, it's not earning money," she said.

Koller said that although Ste. Genevieve suffered, it's not down for the count. She said: "I think we're going to make it through the winter. We held a Fall Harvest Festival Oct. 23-24, and we're working on our annual Ste. Genevieve Christmas Walk that will be held on Dec. 4-5.

"There is a sense of optimism in the community despite the impact of the flood. I think the flood fight brought everyone in the community closer together, knowing they all had a part in saving their town. There's a lot of pride in our city; you could see it in the faces of the men, women and children who worked day and night to fill sandbags and man levee patrols. They wanted to save Ste. Genevieve."

Mayor Bill Anderson said progress is being made on getting the town's infrastructure repaired and back into operation. Damage to bridges, streets, sewer lines and other property totaled $16 million. That doesn't include about 300 damaged or destroyed homes, and the cost of hiring contractors, buying sandbags and other flood-related expenses. The town's annual budget is only $1.7 million.

Anderson said: "It's been a slow process, but we want to do it right the first time. We have been working very close with FEMA. They have been very cooperative."

The mayor said the best news was announcement by U.S. Sen. John Danforth that $4.5 million has been allocated to complete planning for a new flood-protection levee for Ste. Genevieve. In addition, Danforth said the Senate has agreed to resolve the issue of federal-state cost-sharing to build the levee within a year.

"We're very elated over the prospect that we'll eventually get the levee built, even though it may be as long as seven or eight years before it is completed," the mayor said. "Just one year ago there was practically no chance the levee would be built because we couldn't come up with the matching funds.

"Under the present matching formula, the local share of the levee project would be $10 million. If we can get that amount down to where the taxpayers of Ste. Genevieve can afford it, I believe they will vote for the creation of a levee district that will be the taxing authority and maintain the levee after it is built."