Lead mining era, 1860´s-1963

The community was originally part of the Louisiana Territory and settled by Frenchmen in 1720 after they discovered lead ore.^[8] Two Frenchmen, La Motte and Philip Francois Renault had left France in 1719 with 200 miners in search of minerals as part of the Company of the West.^[5] Surface miners referred to it as La Bonne Terre around 1825, meaning "the good soil" because of the lead. In 1828, St. Anne, the first Catholic chapel in St Francois county was built here.^[9]

In 1864, Bonne Terre Mine was established by St. Joseph lead mining company which was incorporated in NYC the same year. In 1865, a new superintendent, J. C. Winslow, brought a number of Cornish miners.^[5] Underground mining began in 1869. After a post office was established in 1868, the corporate name of the town, "St. Joe´s mines" changed to Bonne Terre.^[9]

Major lead mining operations from the 1870s also included the Desloge Lead Company, and Doe Run. The Desloge mines were started by Firmin V. Desloge, and above-ground works were bounded approximately by present-day Division Street on the west, Benham Street on the south, Route 67 on the east, and the township line to the north.^[10][11]

In 1880, Bone Terre was platted as a town.^[9] The miners were local small farmers, timber cutters and rock quarrymen supplementing their income, and later Hungarian and other Slavic and southern European immigrants.^[5] In 1890, the Mississippi River & Bonne Terre Railroad hauled ore to Herculaneum smelters. The Bonne Terre Depot from 1909 still exists.^[5] At the beginning of the 20th century, St. Joe Lead was the only one of initially dozens of mining companies left, as it had bought up the remaining companies. In 1962, the mine closed. Lead mine tailings were used as paving gravel for decades.^[5]

In 1977, heavy rains caused about 50,000 cubic yards of tailings to slough into the Big River.^[12]

21st century

Chat dumps or mine tailing piles remain until today; lead dust contaminated the surrounding area and was a hazard to residents. Only in 1992, the Bonne Terre Mine Tailings Site was listed as a Superfund Site. As of 2021, over 1,400 residential yards have been remediated. The Bonne Terre East Tailings Flat is still used as a repository for lead-contaminated soils.^[13] Because lead levels in fish downstream of the mining area are elevated above World Health Organization Standards, the state of Missouri advises people not to eat fish they catch from the Big River.^[12]

Bonne Terre is home to the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, a roughly 3000-bed prison of adult males who may have substance abuse issues or are mentally disabled. Since April 2005, Missouri has conducted all of its executions there.

2000 census

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 4,039 people, 1,554 households, and 1,062 families living in the city. The population density was 1,000.0 inhabitants per square mile (386.1/km²). There were 1,685 housing units at an average density of 417.2 per square mile (161.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.46% White, 0.30% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.17% of the population.

There were 1,554 households, out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,929, and the median income for a family was $37,072. Males had a median income of $29,617 versus $18,310 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,062. About 11.7% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.4% of those under age 18 and 21.8% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the census^[15] of 2010, there were 6,864 people, 1,634 households, and 1,063 families living in the city. The population density was 1,699.0 inhabitants per square mile (656.0/km²). There were 1,882 housing units at an average density of 465.8 per square mile (179.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.60% White, 18.72% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.10% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.10% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population.

There were 1,634 households, of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.9% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.14.

The median age in the city was 34.2 years. 17.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 12.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 37.1% were from 25 to 44; 22.3% were from 45 to 64; and 10.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 67.1% male and 32.9% female.