Changes

On October 1, 1812, following the organization of the Missouri Territory, its five administrative districts ([[St. Louis]], St. Charles, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau, and [[New Madrid, Missouri|New Madrid]]) were reorganized as counties. (At that time, Cape Girardeau County also included portions of future Bollinger, Scott, Stoddard, and Wayne Counties, which would be established later). Despite Cape Girardeau's prominence, it was decided to move the county seat closer to the geographic center of the county, and in 1815 the honor was given to the new town of Jackson, named for future President [[Andrew Jackson]] in recognition of his exploits during the [[War of 1812]] (and the first city in the United States to be named for him).<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=G-AlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA162#v=onepage&q&f=false</ref>

On October 1, 1812, following the organization of the Missouri Territory, its five administrative districts ([[St. Louis]], St. Charles, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau, and [[New Madrid, Missouri|New Madrid]]) were reorganized as counties. (At that time, Cape Girardeau County also included portions of future Bollinger, Scott, Stoddard, and Wayne Counties, which would be established later). Despite Cape Girardeau's prominence, it was decided to move the county seat closer to the geographic center of the county, and in 1815 the honor was given to the new town of Jackson, named for future President [[Andrew Jackson]] in recognition of his exploits during the [[War of 1812]] (and the first city in the United States to be named for him).<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=G-AlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA162#v=onepage&q&f=false</ref>

Though it lost some of its southern and western territory to the formation of new counties, Cape Girardeau County grew rapidly during the first half of the 19th century. More Americans arrived from east of the Mississippi, drawn by the fertile farmland of the interior and the economic opportunities provided by steamboat trade at Cape Girardeau especially; and many German immigrants settled in the 1820s, '30s, and '40s, founding several small communities such as Friedheim and Tilsit. This growth was interrupted first by the [[Civil War]], which saw the establishment of a [[Union]] garrison at Cape Girardeau, where a small battle was fought in 1863, and general guerrilla warfare and lawlessness throughout the county; and later by the decline of steamboat traffic on the river, which led to considerable economic stagnation. Recovery began near the end of the late 19th century, with the construction of a railroad network linking Cape and Jackson with towns to the south, as well as the development of the State Normal School in Cape (the future [[Southeast Missouri State University]]).

Though it lost some of its southern and western territory to the formation of new counties, Cape Girardeau County grew rapidly during the first half of the 19th century. More Americans arrived from east of the Mississippi, drawn by the fertile farmland of the interior and the economic opportunities provided by steamboat trade at Cape Girardeau especially; and many German immigrants settled in the 1820s, '30s, and '40s, founding several small communities such as Friedheim and Tilsit. This growth was interrupted first by the [[Civil War]], which saw the establishment of a [[Union]] garrison at Cape Girardeau, where a small battle was fought in 1863, and general guerrilla warfare and lawlessness throughout the county; and later by the decline of steamboat traffic on the river, which led to considerable economic stagnation. Recovery began near the end of the late 19th century, with the construction of a railroad network linking Cape and Jackson with towns to the south, as well as the development of the State Normal School in Cape (the future [[Southeast Missouri State University]]). The county's population passed the 25,000 mark in the early 1900s, and steadily increased throughout the 20th century, reaching 50,000 in the early 1970s. Growth was spurred beginning in the 1960s by the construction of Interstate 55, which led to much commercial development in the outlying areas of Cape and Jackson.

 

Though the drainage of the swamps in the southern part of the county in the early 20th century allowed the bottomlands to be cleared for agriculture, it indirectly made them more prone to flooding, especially during the major floods of 1973, 1993, and 2011. The village of Dutchtown, which had been repeatedly damaged by these floods, was disincorporated in March 2018, with most of its properties being bought out.<ref>https://www.semissourian.com/story/2493384.html</ref> Most of the county remains highly prosperous, however, thanks to Cape Girardeau's position as a regional economic hub.

==Geography==

==Geography==