Biohazard and Pathogen Disinfection in Menifee, AR

Menifee is a town in Conway County in central Arkansas, located west of Cadron Creek along the Arkansas River near the Cadron Settlement.

Menifee has its origins in the 1820s, when Dr. Nimrod P. Menifee bought property west of Cadron Creek and along the Arkansas River, adjacent to a settlement once considered for the capital of Arkansas Territory.

Dr. Nimrod Menifee and his son, Dr. Lewis Menifee, organized a large plantation and a river crossing known as Menifee Ferry.

The Menifee family provided the right-of-way for the railroad, and when it was completed in 1873 the designated stop and post office were named in honor of Dr. Nimrod Menifee.

By the early 1890s Menifee was recognized as an important model African-American community, described in an 1896 article in the Freeman newspaper of Indianapolis that noted wealthy families, business houses, and a school of significant reputation.

Howard Township around Menifee and Plumerville grew substantially from 1870 to 1890 through migration of Black families from states east of the Mississippi River, and Conway County's Black population rose from 7.8 percent in 1870 to 39.4 percent in 1890.

Menifee's East Side School District, established in 1919 from the consolidation of Black school districts in the county, made the town a regional provider of minority education, transporting students from across rural Conway County.

A tornado struck Menifee on May 6, 1960, killing local resident Ora Oliver and destroying or severely damaging every business and residence in the community.

Menifee incorporated as a town in the 1960s - the Encyclopedia of Arkansas lists an incorporation date of March 17, 1966 - with popular school superintendent Frank Smith as its first mayor.

In 1979 a Federal District Court order consolidated the Morrilton, Plumerville, and Menifee school districts into the South Conway County School District, ending the segregated dual system.