Last Thursday, Upper School French 400 students took a field trip to Sainte Genevieve to study French history in the Midwest. The students are currently learning about the French-speaking communities, both past and present, of the Americas, stretching from French Guiana in South America, to Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Haiti in the Caribbean, Louisiana in the south, and the French-speaking regions of Canada. They’re also learning about the French history of the whole Midwest in the Mississippi Valley, including the local dialect of French known as pawpaw or Missouri French. That’s where this field trip came into play!
In Sainte Genevieve, the French-learning students saw some of the best-preserved French creole architecture in all of North America and also visited the current exhibition at the Centre for French Colonial Life: “To Shelter and Sustain: Building on the Creole Frontier for housing, food, and water.” They were then tasked with sharing their own digital souvenirs (memories) in French that they compiled in a slideshow with French descriptions. Check out their souvenirs below!
In upcoming classes, the students will be learning more about the French history of our region through French language sources. Until then, read what they thought about the field trip to Sainte Genevieve!
- Devon Catsavis ’24 – “I thought that it was interesting to learn about how other people lived in the 1700s and 1800s and how the people of Ste. Genevieve work so hard to preserve their town’s history. Additionally, the tour guides talked extensively about the unique architecture of the area; for example, how compared to many traditional log homes being built with logs horizontally stacked, they were vertically stacked and put together meticulously by hand. I also really enjoyed being able to explore the area with my friends (especially the candy store!).”
- Ella Brauer ’24 – “I participated in the French exchange over the two weeks of spring break, where I was able to see a snippet of French culture, architecture, and a glimpse into their complex history. As it turns out, the Norman style of architecture is what influenced a large part of the architecture utilized in Sainte Genevieve, which is where we went on our field trip. Seeing that connection from a place across the ocean to a place so close to home was really incredible and interesting, and the colonial life in such a small town was also interesting to learn about. I learned that St. Louis (Sainte Genevieve) played a large part in the Revolutionary War as well, and the French descendants were able to stop the British by holding on to the Mississippi River. It was really a great, fun day with some history lessons in a cute small town.”
- Sophia Huddleston ’25 – “One of the most surprising things I learned on our field trip to Ste. Genevieve was the extent of how prominent French culture is and was in Missouri. I had no idea the extent of long-lasting impacts French concepts had on the colonial Midwest. One of the coolest things to see on our trip was the Creole architecture and how amazing it is to think that those homes stayed standing through numerous natural disasters—without using nails! These carpenters were geniuses, and I don’t think they understood the full extent of how smart their architectural design was. I also enjoyed walking around downtown Ste. Genevieve and seeing how shops and small businesses are nowadays. I loved trying out different bakeries and coffee shops. This trip helped me gain a deeper understanding of France’s impact on the United States; how centuries later, we still use French phrases and do what they used to do back in the 1700s. This unit in general has really bridged a connection between my French and United States History class.”
Merci to Upper School French Teacher Steven Crumb for organizing such an impactful field trip for the French 400 students!