Biohazard Cleanup Near North Norfork Norfork, AR

Norfork is a city in Baxter County, Arkansas, standing where the North Fork River empties into the White River — its name is a blending of 'North Fork.'

Norfork is one of the oldest extant settlements in Arkansas; pioneer Jacob Wolf was among its earliest homeowners, and the town that first grew up around his settlement was known as Liberty.

The Jacob Wolf House, built in 1829, is described as the oldest public structure in Arkansas and the oldest standing territorial government building west of the Mississippi; it served as a trading post and courthouse and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

After earlier years under names including Devero, the community's renaming to Norfork was made official in 1906, a post office was reestablished in 1902, and the city incorporated on November 25, 1910.

The city gave its name to Norfork Dam and Norfork Lake: construction of the dam on the North Fork River began in 1941 as the first of the White River system dams authorized for flood control and power.

Norfork Lake covers about 22,000 acres with more than 550 miles of shoreline and remains a major draw for tourists and anglers.

The roughly five-mile North Fork River tailwater below the dam is Arkansas's shortest trout river, yet it is reputed to be among the finest trout-fishing waters in the United States, kept stocked by the Norfork National Fish Hatchery, established in 1955 and the largest federal trout hatchery in the country.

Norfork High School, whose teams are the Panthers, is the sole high school of the Norfork School District, fed by Arrie Goforth Elementary School.

The old Norfork school campus beside City Hall was built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration.

Norfork celebrates its frontier heritage with the annual Pioneer Day festival, held on the third Saturday of May, and the community was named Arkansas's Volunteer City of the Year for 2009.