Sainte Genevieve County, often abbreviated
Ste. Genevieve County (French: Ste-Geneviève), is a
county located in the eastern portion of the
U.S. state of
Missouri. As of the
2010 census, the population was 18,145. The largest city and
county seat is
Ste. Genevieve. The county was officially organized on October 1, 1812, and is named after the Spanish district once located in the region, after Saint
Genevieve, patroness of
Paris, France. It includes the earliest settlement west of the
Mississippi River outside of
New Spain, part of the French colonial mid-Mississippi valley villages.