Bonne Terre

History

The community was originally part of the Louisiana Territory and settled by Frenchmen in 1720 after they discovered lead ore. Two Frenchmen, La Motte and Philip Francois Renault, had left France in 1719 with 200 miners in search of minerals as part of the Company of the West. Surface miners referred to it as La Bonne Terre around 1825, meaning "the good soil" because of the lead. In 1828, St. Anne, the first Catholic chapel in St Francois County, was built here. In 1864, Bonne Terre Mine was established by St. Joseph lead mining company which was incorporated in NYC the same year. In 1865, a new superintendent, J. C. Winslow, brought a number of Cornish miners. In 1880, Bone Terre was platted as a town. Chat dumps or mine tailing piles remain until today; lead dust contaminated the surrounding area and was a hazard to residents. Only in 1992, the Bonne Terre Mine Tailings Site was listed as a Superfund Site. As of 2021, over 1,400 residential yards have been remediated. The Bonne Terre East Tailings Flat is still used as a repository for lead-contaminated soils. Because lead levels in fish downstream of the mining area are elevated above World Health Organization Standards, the state of Missouri advises people not to eat fish they catch from the Big River. Bonne Terre is home to the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, a roughly 3000-bed prison of adult males who may have substance abuse issues or are mentally disabled. Since April 2005, Missouri has conducted all of its executions there.

Geography

Bonne Terre is part of the Southeast Missouri Lead District, an area of rolling hills of the Ozark Plateau with elevations up to 300 feet. The ground is mostly red clay over a base of limestone. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,507
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,065
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,008
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,938
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,840
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,813
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,712
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  1,627