Florissant
[key], city (2020 pop. 50,562), St. Louis co., E Mo., a suburb of St.
Louis, on the Missouri River; inc. 1829. There is light manufacturing and
limestone quarrying. The city was settled by French farmers and fur trappers
c.1769, but the first civil government there was established in 1786 by the
Spanish. The Spanish called the city San Ferdinand; its French name,
fleurissant [flowering or flourishing], was adopted in
1939. Of interest are Old St. Ferdinand's Shrine and Convent (founded 1789;
rebuilt 1820), and the historic French and Spanish homes, some dating from
1790. St. Louis Christian College and a Jesuit seminary are in the city.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography
