Cape Girardeau in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Nature's River

Photographed By Sandra Hughes, August 12, 2012

1. Nature's River Marker

Inscription. Before humans lived in this area, the Mississippi River Valley was a great wide wetland teaming with plant and animal life. The hawthorn plant, with its brilliant blossoms and bright red berries, became the Missouri state flower. The Carolina parakeet, once prevalent in the river valley, had generally vanished by 1900. The last known member of the species died on February 21, 1918 in the Cincinnati Zoo.

Panel Sponsors:
John, Jerrianne and Murielle Wyman

Erected by Mississippi River Tales River Heritage Mural Association Cape Giradeau Missiour Where the river turns a thousand tales.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Environment. A significant historical date for this entry is February 21, 1918.

Location. 37° 18.236′ N, 89° 31.069′ W. Marker is in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in Cape Girardeau County. Marker is on North Water Street. Marker is located along Water Street in front of the Mural Wall next to the Mississippi River. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 20 N Water St, Cape Girardeau MO 63701, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Dwarfing the Titanic (within shouting distance of this marker); 1880 (within shouting distance of this marker); Filburn & Sloan Commission House (about 300 feet

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away, measured in a direct line); The Mississippi River (about 300 feet away); Justice for the Common Man (about 300 feet away); 1875 (about 300 feet away); Telephone Service (about 400 feet away); 1870 (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cape Girardeau.

Also see . . .
1. Carolina parakeet. The Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) or Carolina conure was a small green neotropical parrot with a bright yellow head, reddish orange face and pale beak native to the eastern, midwest and plains states of the United States and was the only indigenous parrot within its range, as well as one of only two parrots native to the United States (the other being the thick-billed parrot). It was found from southern New York and Wisconsin to Kentucky, Tennessee and the Gulf of Mexico, from the Atlantic seaboard to as far west as eastern Colorado. It lived in old-growth forests along rivers and in swamps.[2] It was called puzzi la née ("head of yellow") or pot pot chee by the Seminole and kelinky in Chickasaw.[3] Though formerly prevalent within its range, the bird had become rare

Photographed By Sandra Hughes, August 12, 2012

2. Nature's River Marker

by the middle of the 19th century. The last confirmed sighting in the wild was of the ludovicianus subspecies in 1910. The last known specimen perished in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918[4] and the species was declared extinct in 1939. (Submitted on September 1, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.)

2. Wetland. A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem.[2] The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants,[3][4] adapted to the unique hydric soil. Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, carbon sink and shoreline stability. Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life.[5] (Submitted on September 1, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.)

3. Mississippi River Tales Mural. The Mississippi River Tales is a mural containing 24 panels covering nearly 18,000 square feet (1,700 m2) of the 15-foot (4.6 m)-high downtown floodwall in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It illustrates the history of the area beginning with the Native

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Americans who inhabited the area between 900 and 1200. Each panel tells a story: Louis Lorimier platting the city in 1793, the transfer of Upper Louisiana from France to the United States in 1804, Missouri gaining statehood in 1821, the coming of the railroad in 1880, the Big Freeze of 1918-19 and the completion of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, among many others. The paintings are in a style similar to that of painter Thomas Hart Benton. (Pamela Selbert, Chicago Tribune, November 18, 2007). The mural was painted by Chicago artist Thomas Melvin,[1] in collaboration with several local artists, and was dedicated at a public ceremony on July 7, 2005. (Submitted on September 1, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 11, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 30, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 173 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 30, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.