Biohazard and Pathogen Disinfection in Eminence, MO

Eminence is a city in the Missouri Ozarks and the county seat of Shannon County, long one of the most sparsely populated counties in the state.

The original town of Eminence was located several miles north of its present location, near Round Spring on the Current River, and it appears to have been in existence by 1842, when Eminence Township was formed in the new Shannon County and named for it.

After the first courthouse was burned during the Civil War, county court was for a short time held in a small cave or hollow near the river, now known as Courthouse Cave.

Around 1870, the entire community was relocated to its present location, but despite its long history and position as the county seat, Eminence was not incorporated until 1930.

After its fourth courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1938, Eminence nearly lost the county seat to Winona but eventually retained it, completing construction of the fifth and present courthouse in 1941.

A post office called Eminence has been in operation since 1844, and according to one account the town was named on account of its lofty elevation, though this interpretation is disputed.

Eminence is located at the intersection of Missouri State Highways 19 and 106, in a valley along the Jacks Fork of the Current River, which flows into the Current a few miles east of town.

Eminence sits in the center of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, the nation's first protected river system, and tourism and float trips on the Current and Jacks Fork rivers are the source of considerable recreation business for the area.

Eminence functions as a summer resort town with liveries and campgrounds serving float-trip traffic, and it promotes itself as home to one of the country's largest trail-riding establishments.

The 2020 census counted 515 residents in Eminence; in 2010 its 600 residents were grouped into 254 households.