The Red House Interpretive Center commemorates the life of Cape Girardeau’s founder Louis Lorimier as well as Lewis and Clark’s visit to the community on November 23, 1803.The Red House includes a number of exhibits and interpretive panels highlighting Lewis and Clark’s visit, French Colonial architecture, settlers of the Old Cape Girardeau District and the roads, river and transportation of the day. The Red House is a recreation of Lorimier’s trading post and home and displays authentic items that would have been sold at the turn of the 19th century.Historically accurate gardens surround the house, and the Sunrise Over a New Land Mural depicts what the Mississippi River looked like during Lorimier’s lifetime. Special events include the annual Fall Frolic.
