Florissant (FLOR-i-sint), city (1990 pop. 51,206), St. Louis co., E Mo., a residential and commercial suburb 17 mi/27 km NW of downtown St. Louis, near the Missouri R.; 38°47'N 90°19'W. Light mfg.; limestone quarries in area. It was settled by Fr. farmers and fur trappers c.1769, but the 1st civil govt. there was established in 1786 by the Spanish. The Spanish called the city San Ferdinand; its traditional Fr. name, fleurissant [flowering or flourishing], was officially adopted in 1939. Of interest are Old St. Ferdinand’s Shrine and Convent (founded 1789; rebuilt 1820), and the historic Fr. homes, some dating from 1790. St. Louis Christian Col. and St. Stanislaus Seminary are in the city. Inc. 1829.
