Jour De Fete Committee Receptive To Donating Buildings To NPS

The Jour de Fete Committee took an informal vote last Thursday that favored working with the National Park Service on transferring the Moses Austin outbuildings to the U.S. Department of the Interior for inclusion in the Sainte Genevieve National Historical Park.

The Jour de Fete Committee is leaning toward donating the outbuildings in the Moses Austin Park for the creation of the Sainte Genevieve National Historical Park. (Herald file photo)

The National Park Service has acquired the Beauvais-Amoureux House on St. Mary’s Road from the state of Missouri and the Jean-Baptiste Valle House at the corner of Main and Market from the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Missouri.
It is in the process of acquiring the Kern-Delassus House on Highway 61 south of the city from the state of Missouri, which offered originally five parcels with two historic buildings.
The state legislature recently approved transferring three more buildings, which is expected to yield the Green Tree Tavern for the national park.
The Moses Austin outbuildings are located just across the Gabouri Creek from the Green Tree.
Committee president Jami Inman said she had been talking with Chris Collins, superintendent of the Sainte Genevieve National Historical Park, and took the proposal to her committee.
“Everybody is on board, so I told them I’m going to fill out the paperwork to get it started,” Inman said last Friday. “We need to have a meeting with him for everybody. It’s something that will help them and help us, as long as we can come to an agreement on how much property they’ll have.”
A survey would have to be done and the National Park Service would have to determine how much space around the buildings it needs.
Inman said she wants to retain the bulk of the park property and continue to allow parking for those visiting the historic sites.
She said the committee still is planning to move forward on building a pavilion in the Moses Austin Park, which hosts vendors during Jour de Fete and hosts other events such as Ecole du Soldat and the Ste. Genevieve Encampment.