Cape Girardeau County, MO
History
Cape Girardeau County was organized on October 1, 1812, as one of five original counties and is named after Ensign Sieur Jean Baptiste de Girardot (also spelled Girardeau or Girardat), a French officer originally stationed at Kaskaskia, Illinois from 1704-1720. He later developed a trading post on the site on the present-day city of Cape Girardeau around 1733. The "cape" in the county name was a rock promontory overlooking the Mississippi River and Claire's house, the original cape rock, was destroyed by railroad construction. The county's name derives from a district located in the area when the Spanish controlled the region.Source Wikipedia
The Cape Girardeau County Archive Center holds some of the oldest records in the State of Missouri dating back to the late 1790s when Don Louis Lorimier was Commandant of the Cape Girardeau District of Louisiana during the Spanish Regime. Though Lorimier could neither read nor write, he arranged land grants for the early settlers, held court, and performed marriages for the inhabitants. Upon occasion, he even called up militia to protect the district.
Source Cape Girardeau County Archive History