 It is the county seat of Cape Girardeau County.It is a principal city of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.In 1813, Cape Girardeau County succeeded Cape Girardeau District, and the Court of Common Pleas and the Court of General Quarter-Sessions of the Peace in Cape Girardeau were superseded by the Court of Common Pleas, leading to a new seat of justice.