The Bolduc House

In 1792 French-speaking Monsieur Louis Bolduc joined the other residents of the old town of Sainte Genevieve in the task of relocating the entire town inland about three miles away from its original location on the Mississippi River just west of Kaskaskia of the Illinois Country. This happened after the floods of 1785 inundated the village’s houses up to the rafters yet again. Unable to salvage much of his original house due to the damage from the flood water,dendrochronology reveals that there is at least one board in the Bolduc House ceiling which may have been salvaged from the original house in the old town.

The Bolduc House

• A French-style vertical log house with a cedar shake hipped roof supported by a hand-hewn Norman truss
• Survived the 1811-1812 series of earthquakes along the New Madrid Fault
• Owned by members of the Bolduc family from the late eighteenth century until 1948
• Purchased, restored, furnished, and operated by The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Missouri
• The restoration was supervised by Dr. Ernest A. Connally of Washington University in St. Louis who went on to write the National Historic Landmarks legislation for the United States government
• Furnished with authentic eighteenth century French Colonial artifacts and furniture including some owned by Louis Bolduc, himself
• The first National Historic Landmark in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri
• Winner of the 2005 Preserve America Award

The Bolduc House Museum. Left—the Norman Truss is exposed in the Bolduc House Attic showing how the cedar shake roof is supported. Center– the Bolduc House bedroom. Right– A view of the vertical logs on the front porch gallerie. Between the vertical logs is bousillage, a mixture of mud, straw and animal hair. The wall is covered in limestone white wash.