Sainte Genevieve, the oldest permanent settlement in Missouri, was founded about 1735 by Illinois French as a river depot for lead and salt and was moved 3 miles to its present site after the 1785 flood. Named for the patroness saint of Paris, it remains a vivid reminder of the claims of France and Spain to the Mississippi Valley and of the westward expansion of the United States. Here were established a Catholic church in 1749, the first Masonic lodge west of the river in 1807, the first academy chartered in Missouri in 1808, and the first U.S. recruiting office west of the river in 1812. Its historic features include the Grand Champ of the French agricultural plots, broken by Indian mounds; the Three Notch Road, the oldest in Missouri; the relic of El Camino Real or King's Highway, dating from 1789; the state's oldest cemetery, from 1787; the Catholic church built in 1882; the Price House, about 1800, claimed to be the first brick house west of the Mississippi; and the home of Lewis F. Linn, known as the Model Senator from Missouri, from 1833 to 1843. Ornithologist John James Audubon was here in a merchandising partnership with Ferdinand Rozier in 1811. Through the years, with the coming of Americans and a large German immigration, Ste. Genevieve has kept much of its early character, with ancient charm preserved largely in the designs and names of its old homes. Among notable examples of early architecture are the Louis Bolduc House, one of the oldest in the valley; the Jean Baptiste Valle House, home of the last Spanish commandant; the Jean Bequet-Ribault House, with unusual wall construction; the Janis-Ziegler House, once the Green Tree Tavern; the St. Gemme Beauvais House, associated with Henri M. Breckenridge; and the Guibourd House, with fine casement windows. It is also notable as a place once lived in by U.S. Senators Henry Dodge of Wisconsin, Augustus C. Dodge and George W. Jones of Iowa, Lewis V. Bogy and Lewis F. Linn of Missouri, and Missouri's first congressman, John Scott. Ste. Genevieve, once the seat of government for one of the five Spanish districts and later one of Missouri's first five counties, is also important as a source of golden marble and an outstanding producer of quality lime.