Chaumette Vineyards & Winery is pleased to present the beautifully restored Bequette-Ribault House & Hospitality Center in Ste. Genevieve. This post-colonial home is a must-see for history lovers and anyone interested in what life was like in historic Ste. Genevieve. View the timeline of events surrounding the home’s history in the Hospitality Center located in another nearby restored outbuilding.
Located at 351 St. Mary’s Road, The Bequette-Ribault House lies across from what remains of Le Grand Champ Field from the original French settlement. The two-room house is most noted architecturally by its originally steeply pitched Norman truss roof and “poteaux-en-terre” construction, or “posts-in-the-earth,” referencing its vertical logs built directly into the ground without a foundation. Only five of these “poteaux-en-terre” structures remain in the world, and Ste. Genevieve is home to three such buildings.
The Bequette-Ribault House is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. Built by Jean-Baptiste Bequette, Sr. in 1808, the Bequette-Ribault House is about 36 feet in length and has been completely restored with historically accurate details and furnishings. In 1840, Clarisse, a free woman of color, purchased the property upon Bequette, Jr.’s death. It was subsequently owned by her descendants, all of whom had last names of Ribault, until 1982.
We invite you to journey into post-colonial Ste. Genevieve and learn about this historically-accurate restored structure and the history of all those who once lived there. For more information and our hours, please visit us at www.chaumette.com or call (573) 747-1000.