Belgique, Missouri

Belgique, Missouri
Unincorporated community
Belgique, Missouri, roadsign
Location of Perry County, Missouri
Coordinates: 37°50′15″N89°46′52″W / 37.83750°N 89.78111°W / 37.83750; -89.78111
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Perry
Township	Bois Brule [1]
Named for	Belgium
Elevation [2]	371 ft (113 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	63775
Area code	573
FIPS code	29-04042
GNIS feature ID	713893 [2]

Belgique is an unincorporated community in eastern Perry County, Missouri, United States. It is located approximately five miles south of Chester, Illinois, in Perry County's Bois Brule Township.

Etymology

Since a town already existed in Missouri which bore the name of Belgium,^{[ citation needed ]} the Flemish residents opted to use the French name for their homeland.

History

• 
  Belgique, 19th century

The town was originally settled by Catholic Flemings from Belgium. A Catholic church, The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, existed in Belgique from 1884 to 1992. ^[3] A post office was established in 1890, but as the name "Belgium" had already been taken, the French name for Belgium "Belgique" was used instead. ^[4] Its post office has closed and its mail now comes from Perryville. ^[5] Since the flood of 1993 there is no longer an existing town. ^[6]

Geography

Belgique was located on the flat alluvial plain of the Bois Brule Bottom situated in the northern part of Perry County.

Floods

Of the many floods over the centuries, the most devastating flood was the Great Flood of 1993. The subsequent flood destroyed the village, leaving only a handful of residents to return to the area following the flood. ^{[7] [8]}

• 
  Flooded Church - Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• 
  Flooded store

References

1. Histopolis
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Belgique, Missouri
3. Missouri Historical Society: Perry County Place Names, 1928-1945 Archived March 31, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
4. Flemish Genealogy Archived August 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
5. Missouri Postal History Archived October 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
6. Nativity Cemetery - Perry County, Missouri Archived November 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
7. Erin Ragan (August 14, 2013). "Remembering the 1993 flood: Locals look back at flood fight". Southeast Missourian. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
8. US Army Corps of Engineers (December 1993). "Upper Mississippi River Basin Flood of 1993, Flood-Fight Reconnaissance and Survey of Expedient Methods Employed". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)