Menfro is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in northeastern

Perry County Perry County may refer to: United States *Perry County, Alabama *Perry County, Arkansas *Perry County, Illinois *Perry County, Indiana *Perry County, Kentucky *Perry County, Mississippi *Perry County, Missouri *Perry County, Ohio *Perry Coun ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, United States. It is located northeast of Perryville.

Name

The town is said to have been named by St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad officials in 1904 "for the three men who were killed on the river, who were bringing in supplies for the railroad."

History

Menfro was established on a small portion of Levi Wiggin's land grant #1328. In January 1877, this small plot of land was subdivided by the Perry County Surveyor and eventually became known as the Town of Menfro. In September 1879, Valentine and Margaret Hoehn sold a portion of land grant #1328 to Frederick Moldenhauer. The Moldenhauer family still owns this tract of land which is home to the Moldenhauer Alfalfa Mill. Menfro began as a stop on the St. Louis, Memphis & South Eastern Railroad, which began construction on 22 September 1902, with the intention of linking Perry County with St. Louis in time for the

1904 World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...

. A post office was opened in 1904 (closed in 1996).

Floods

The Town of Menfro is located on

Cinque Hommes Creek Cinque Hommes Creek is a tributary of the Mississippi River flowing through Perry County, Missouri. Name The early Colonial French name for the creek was "à la viande" or "with meat". Cinque Hommes Creek was named after Cape Cinque Hommes on ...

, which is usually called "Menfro Creek" by the local population. Menfro Creek empties into the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

just a mile (1.6k) downstream from the Town of Menfro. When the water level in the Mississippi River rises, the Menfro Creek runs backwards, taking in the rising water from the Mississippi. As such, when the Mississippi River floods, so does Menfro. Three major floods have affected Menfro (1943, 1973 and 1993). Each time, the Town of Menfro was destroyed. After the 1943 and

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

floods the town was rebuilt; however, after the

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

flood the town did not recover.

Geography

Menfro is situated in the Mississippi River Valley within an alluvial flood plain called the

Bois Brule Bottom The Bois Brule Bottom (French: Bois Brûlé) is an alluvial floodplain in Bois Brule Township in Perry County, Missouri stretching between Bois Brule Creek to the west and the Mississippi River to the east. The American Bottom stretches from St ...

. Being nestled between the limestone bluffs along the western edge of Bois Brule Bottom and Cinque Hommes Creek directly to the east has made Menfro susceptible to flooding.

Name

History

Floods

Geography

References

Further reading