Cape Girardeau County holds some of the oldest records in the State of Missouri dating from the late 1790s when Louis Lorimier was Commandant of the Cape Girardeau District of Louisiana during the Spanish Regime. Don Louis Lorimier arranged for land grants to the early settlers, held court, performed marriages for the inhabitants, and called up militia to protect the district. Our collection includes records in English, French, and Spanish from Lorimier's time, Missouri Territorial Records, records generated at the time of statehood, the Civil War, and into the twentieth century. Over 4000 cubic feet of tax records, school records, probate and circuit court records, deed and marriage records, some birth and death records, and limited military records are available for researchers at the Archive Center. The records were moved from storage areas as varied as the Jackson Circuit Courthouse bell tower and the Cape Girardeau Common Pleas Courthouse dungeon and are know located in the climate controlled Archives Center in Jackson, Missouri.

The Cape County Commissioners--Gerald Jones, Larry Bock, Max Stovall, and County Clerk Rodney Miller stepped forward to protect our county history. County funds combined with Local Records Program grants have brought about this modern storage facility to preserve our county records. With a view to the future as we protect our past, the new Cape Girardeau County Archive Center will serve the county and its citizens for years to come.

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