About the Library and the Collection
The Rozier Library & Heritage Room is named for Firmin A. Rozier. He was named the Brigadier General of the Missouri State Militia in 1845. In 1851, he became the mayor of Ste. Genevieve. In 1853, he became the owner/occupant/caretaker of the Old Academy, the first school west of the Mississippi River to be chartered by the United States. The school closed after all four of its teachers enlisted in the Confederate Army. General Rozier was an historian of note whose compilation of the early history of Missouri was published in 1890. He had a significant library at the Old Academy made up of early Missouri law books, history books, text books, and many books in French including a large number of early Catholic devotional and theological volumes.
The Ste. Genevieve Board of Education acquired both the library and the Old Academy building in 1934. The library resided for many years in the French classroom at the high school. In 2008, the books were donated to The Bolduc House Museum with the understanding that we would make them available under supervised conditions to the community. The Old Academy has been privately owned since 1994.
Our Rozier Library and Archives includes several collections. The Rozier Library is comprised of 18th and 19th century books in French and English used in the Old Academy, a boy’s school begun in 1809. This “library” also includes early Missouri law books from Judge Firmin Rozier’s office stored in three of his original custom built cabinets. The Colonial Dames library is a more eclectic collection with a first edition of Jean Jacques Rousseau’s novel, “Heloise” and assorted other rare books, early American and French Canadian genealogy resources, as well as reference books related to our collections, time period, and gardens. We have archival documents related to the restoration of the Louis Bolduc House, original manuscripts and maps, and a large collection of books and maps on loan from Yan Bolduc about the Bolduc family history here, in Quebec, and in Europe. Our collections are available to the public with an appointment when a curator is present.
This page will become the archive site for the website. We are in the process of not only cataloging everything but we also hope to put them on line soon. Please watch this space for updates on this project. Please be patient as it gets organized.
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Other collections yet to be indexed include:
Please email or call the museum to make an appointment to use the Rozier Library during our regular hours of operation.
Volunteer help is always welcome!
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