Cape Girardeau History and Photos
News photos that have grown whiskers and have become history
I can’t help but be drawn to the World War I private standing vigil on the county courthouse lawn in Jackson. Click on the photo to make it larger.
This isn’t the first time I’ve shot him, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Here are some early posts with him in it.
The World War I doughboy who stands on the courthouse lawn in Jackson hasn’t been to all 106 Homecomers celebrations; he wasn’t erected until Decoration Day – May 30 – 1925.
Here’s a quick glance of Friday night’s celebration. Click on any photo to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the images.
Longtime downtown Jackson business Ross Furniture is moving to East Jackson Blvd. from South High Street, a story in The Missourian reported June 12, 2012. The store had been at that location since 1979. As Cape’s business center has shifted west, I guess it’s only logical that Jackson’s would move east. The furniture store had one of the two bay windows that existed in the Courthouse Square area. It must have been exciting to look up and down the street and toward the courthouse Back in The Day.
Late afternoon isn’t the best time in of the day to shoot a north-south street. I was limited to shooting the businesses on the east side of the street because of dark shadows.
Even though I worked at The Jackson Pioneer, I have very few memories of Jackson’s main drag. I covered lots of governmental meetings and school activities, but there must not have been much happening in the business district.
Well, I have vague memories of a bit of a stir when one of The Pioneer’s editors developed a strange obsession with a local high school girl a third his age. When the girl’s father, one of our largest (and, to be honest, few) advertisers refused to let them date, the editor picketed the father’s place of business. I’m not sure even that was enough to get you fired at The Pioneer, but he didn’t last long. One of these days I’ll get around to writing about the collection of misfits we had working there.
Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery.
This night photo of the Cape County Courthouse was probably taken when I was working at The Jackson Pioneer in 1964 or 1965. There is a story, maybe true, maybe not, that the Pioneer staff threw food color in the fountain the night Barry Goldwater was nominated for President. They wanted Jackson to wake up to Gold Water in the fountain.
I wonder if anybody will be dunking teabags in the fountain to carry on the tradition?
I used my quest for Jackson’s Hanging Tree as an excuse to wander around in the old courthouse. The old art glass skylight is still impressive.
The Dec. 16, 1949, Missourian had a story that the skylight had been cleaned for the first time in 40 years. “A washing compound for glass with a sponge was used by Thomas Brothers, in charge of the interior decorating of the building. Covered with a film of black smoke and dust, the pretty color had been hidden from view. Jackson children who had grown to manhood and womanhood had never seen the glass of the dome clear and bright.”
“Each small piece of the art glass is held in place with lead and since they are fragile, the workman was cautious and expected to spend many hours on the high ladder for the cleaning.”
This sign looks like they might have moved it over when the 1908 courthouse was built.
Records show that the contractors used columns that were composed of several pieces instead of one at the main entrances.
One of the goals was to make the building as fireproof as possible. Wood construction had been used in the dome, but the Court agreed to pay an additional $3,000 to remove the wood in the dome and replace it with metal. All of the parts of the dome, except the part where stone was exposed was to be covered in copper.
The contractors tried to slip in wooden floors, but they were required to put in ceramic mosaic tile as specified.
Despite the thousands of feet pacing on it, the tile floors have held up well.
The Jackson Post & Cashbook quoted workman William Craig that “blue limestone was quarried near Jackson and was hand cut on site. The white limestone of the second and third stories was quarried at Cape Girardeau near the old Normal School (Southeast Missouri State University today).” Some of the sheets were 10’x10’x4.
The steps were also quarried near Cape. The cornice stone is from Bedford, Ind.; the wainscoating is of Tennessee marble and the columns are Bedford stone.
This is looking south from the second floor toward the Jackson’s downtown.
I wrote about the memorial to the Cape County World War I dead earlier.
Click on any image to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the photo to move through the gallery.
