There are precious few communities in our comparatively young country where structures from the mid-1700s exist today.  Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, less than an hour south of St. Louis, was the first European settlement west of the Mississippi.  To touch the rock-solid wall of a vertical log home that a French Creole settler built more than 250 years ago is a rare experience. Although it can be hard to imagine what life was like for these families, Ste. Genevieve seems to be loaded with knowledgeable historians who can help. If you come here, take the time to tour as many of these homes as possible and then just walk around – there are fine examples of architecture from the 1800s and early 1900s as well. Many residents of these historic homes can trace their own ancestry back to the early settlers.