Best Web Design in Florissant, MO (2026)

Web Design for Florissant, Missouri

Florissant is one of Missouri's oldest settlements, a French colonial village in the fertile 'flowering valley' north of St. Louis that the Spanish once called St. Ferdinand. It preserves a remarkably deep colonial past, including the oldest surviving church building between the Mississippi and the Rockies, while functioning today as a large, diverse St. Louis suburb. It celebrates its roots each May with the Valley of Flowers Festival.

AppWT works with Florissant, MO businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Florissant

Also known as. Valley of Flowers. The Flower Valley. St. Ferdinand (historic name). Old Town Florissant.

History. Settled by French colonists around 1785, among the oldest towns in Missouri, established at roughly the same era as nearby St. Louis. A first civilian government formed in 1786, and an early Spanish census in 1787 recorded 40 people and seven plantations. Spanish authorities named it St. Ferdinand, and it was officially the City of St. Ferdinand from 1857 until it was renamed Florissant in 1939, from the French 'fleurissant' (flowering). In 1819, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne relocated her convent to Florissant and founded a school, a landmark in early Catholic education west of the Mississippi. After World War II the town boomed, with roughly 18,000 houses built between 1947 and 1980 and population peaking near 76,000 in the mid-1970s. James J. Eagan served as mayor for 37 years (1963-2000), among the longest mayoral tenures in the United States.

Local economy. Florissant functions primarily as a large residential bedroom suburb of St. Louis, among the biggest municipalities in St. Louis County. Retail corridors and the historic Old Town business district support local commerce and small business. St. Louis Community College's Florissant Valley campus is a significant local institution and employer. The city sits within the north St. Louis County economy tied to regional manufacturing, aerospace, and healthcare employers nearby.

Culture and community. The Valley of Flowers Festival, held annually since 1963, features a large parade each May and honors the city's floral namesake. Old Town Florissant preserves a walkable historic district of 18th- and 19th-century architecture, shops, and festivals. The city has produced an unusually long list of celebrities, including actress Kate Capshaw, rapper Chingy, MLB slugger Ryan Howard, WWE wrestler Randy Orton, and comedian/actor Cedric the Entertainer. French colonial and German-immigrant heritage both shaped the town's architecture and traditions.

What makes Florissant distinct. The name 'Florissant' comes from a misheard/adapted French word for 'flowering,' giving rise to the 'Valley of Flowers' nickname. Old St. Ferdinand Shrine is tied to St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, canonized a Catholic saint in 1988, one of only a handful of American saints. The shrine also holds a reliquary said to contain relics of St. Valentine, a little-known curiosity for a St. Louis suburb. Mayor James Eagan's 37-year tenure made him one of the longest-serving mayors of any city in the country. For a suburb of its size, Florissant has an outsized celebrity roster spanning film, music, baseball, and pro wrestling.

Florissant Landmarks and Local Life

• Old St. Ferdinand Shrine - whose 1821 church is the oldest surviving church building between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains; its 1819 convent housed the first Catholic school in the region and was home to St. Rose Philippine Duchesne
• Taille de Noyer - a home dating to about 1790 that began as a hunting lodge of John Mullanphy and is now a museum kept by the local historical society
• Coldwater Cemetery - whose first burial dates to 1809
• The St. Ferdinand Central Historic District - encompassing about 124 historically significant properties spanning 1790 to 1940