Menfro, Missouri

Menfro is an unincorporated community in northeastern Perry County, Missouri, United States. It is located eight miles (13 km) northeast of Perryville.

Menfro, Missouri
unincorporated community
Location of Menfro, Missouri
Coordinates: 37°46′37″N 89°43′24″W
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Perry
Township	Bois Brule
Elevation	360 ft (110 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	63775
Area code(s)	573
FIPS code	29-47324 [1]
GNIS feature ID	722232 [2]

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." [3]

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.[4]

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. A post office was opened in 1904 (closed in 1996).[5]

Floods

The Town of Menfro is located on Cinque Hommes Creek, which is usually called "Menfro Creek" by the local population. Menfro Creek empties into the Mississippi River 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.

Flooded Cinque Hommes Creek at Menfro, Missouri.

Three major floods have affected Menfro (1943, 1973 and 1993). Each time, the Town of Menfro was destroyed. After the 1943 and 1973 floods the town was rebuilt; however, after the 1993 flood the town did not recover.[6]

Geography

Menfro is situated in the Mississippi River Valley within an alluvial flood plain called the Bois Brule Bottom. 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.

References

1. Roadsidethoughts.com "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-07-21. Retrieved 2013-07-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. Roadsidethoughts.com "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-07-21. Retrieved 2013-07-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. The State Historical Society of Missouri: Perry County Place Names, 1928-1945 http://shs.umsystem.edu/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_perry.html
4. Country Homes of Missouri.com http://www.countryhomesofmissouri.com/city/detail/?id=105956
5. Missouri Postal History "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2013-09-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. US Army Corps of Engineers (December 1993). "Upper Mississippi River Basin Flood of 1993, Flood-Fight Reconnaissance and Survey of Expedient Methods Employed". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

Further reading

Erzfeld, Patricia L. Menfro: People's Dream, Mother Nature's Plan, Perry County Historical Society, softcover, 161 pages. This book is one of the few compilations on the History of Menfro, written from first and secondary sources. This article was written from the information found in this book.