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Office: Menifee County Emergency Management – Frenchburg, KY 40322 | 24-hour dispatch notification (606) 768-9046.
Sheriff: Menifee County Sheriff’s Office – 12 Main Street (also listed 202 Main St), Frenchburg, KY 40322 | (606) 768-3875 | Fax (606) 768-3954 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Roger Smallwood.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: KY-11 and KY-36 serve Frenchburg, the county seat, in eastern Kentucky near the Red River Gorge and Daniel Boone National Forest.
Notes: Menifee County, formed in 1869 as Kentucky’s 113th county from parts of Bath, Montgomery, Morgan, Powell, and Wolfe counties, has a genuinely quirky naming history. It’s named for Richard Hickman Menefee, a young Kentucky congressman who in 1837 defeated Judge Richard French in a hard-fought congressional race – yet the new county’s seat was then named Frenchburg, honoring French, the man Menefee had just beaten. Menefee died in 1841 at age 31, reportedly the youngest person in Kentucky (and possibly the nation) at the time to have a county named in his honor; the county’s spelling later diverged slightly from his surname.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Menifee County Courthouse – Frenchburg, KY.
Notes: Menifee County is Kentucky’s fifth-least populous county, serving as a scenic gateway to the Red River Gorge, Cave Run Lake, and the Daniel Boone National Forest.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Menifee County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via menifeecounty.ky.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Menifee County Public Library (Frenchburg) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Access to the Red River Gorge, Cave Run Lake, and the Daniel Boone National Forest are the county’s premier outdoor recreation draws.
Notes: The genuine “loser’s name went to the county seat, winner’s name went to the county” naming history is a distinctive piece of only-in-Kentucky political trivia covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Menifee County Property Valuation Administrator – confirm current contact via menifeecounty.ky.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Menifee County Animal Shelter – 381 Little League Lane, Frenchburg, KY 40322 | Mailing: PO Box 75, Frenchburg, KY 40322 | (606) 768-9368 | Email: [email protected]. A volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit that took over county shelter operations after determining most animals were previously euthanized on-site; typically houses 70-90 animals with only 9 kennels, so space is very limited. Adoption fees: $100 dogs, $50 cats.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Menifee County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via menifeecounty.ky.gov.
NOTES: Menifee County is the second county in Kentucky’s twelfth batch under the Round 3 A+ sourced standard. The genuine “loser’s name went to the county seat, winner’s name went to the county” naming history is a distinctive piece of only-in-Kentucky political trivia covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Menifee County County
Menifee County is eastern Kentucky’s Cave Run Lake and Daniel Boone National Forest county – the muskie fishing reservoir in the national forest and the sandstone knobs country that transitions the Bluegrass into the Appalachians define a small remote county where Frenchburg serves the surrounding forest communities near the Red River Gorge.
Frenchburg (the county seat, population ~500) is Menifee County’s governmental hub, a small eastern Kentucky knobs community on KY-11 serving the county’s rural population in the Daniel Boone National Forest corridor near Cave Run Lake.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Menifee County Property Valuation Administrator at 26 Main Street, Frenchburg, KY 40322, phone 606-768-9673. KY assessed at 100% fair cash value.
Courts & Legal
Menifee County Circuit Court at 26 Main Street, Frenchburg, KY 40322, phone 606-768-3514, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections, Marriage Licenses)
87 N. Main St., Frenchburg, KY 40322
(606) 768-3318
CIRCUIT COURT CLERK (Court Records)
87 N. Main St., Frenchburg, KY 40322
(606) 768-3348
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
87 N. Main St., Frenchburg, KY 40322
(606) 768-3318
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Menifee County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Menifee County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Menifee County District Court 12 Main Street, P.O. Box 172, Frenchburg, KY 40322 (606) 768-2461 Menifee County is in eastern Kentucky, seated in Frenchburg.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Kentucky has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code; probate is governed by KRS Chapter 395 (Administration of Estates), handled by the District Court in the county where the decedent resided (KRS 24A.120).
Dispensing with Administration – Kentucky’s simplified small-estate procedure, governed by KRS 395.450, 395.455, and 395.470. Available when the value of the personal estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $30,000, and the petitioner is a surviving spouse, adult child, or other qualifying heir/preferred creditor. The petitioner files a Petition to Dispense with Administration (Form AOC-830) with an affidavit listing assets, debts, and proposed distribution – no personal representative or full administration is required. Real estate is generally not covered by this procedure.
Regular (Full) Administration – for larger or more complex estates, the District Court appoints a personal representative (executor if named in a will, administrator if intestate), who gathers assets, pays debts, and distributes what remains under court oversight.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor/Administrator (Form AOC-805) with the District Court in the county of residence.
If there’s a will, the court admits it to probate; it is then recorded with the county clerk (KRS 394.140).
The personal representative files an Inventory and Appraisement (Form AOC-841) of estate assets.
Notice to creditors is published; creditors generally have 6 months from appointment to file claims.
The personal representative pays valid debts, taxes, and expenses.
A Settlement of Estate (Form AOC-846) is filed, and the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Filing fees and publication costs are collected by the clerk and vary somewhat by county.
Kentucky does not require an attorney for probate, though it is commonly recommended, especially for formal administration.
Typical timelines: full probate generally takes 6-12 months; the creditor claims period is 6 months. Dispensing with Administration can move significantly faster once the estate qualifies.
Before distribution, a surviving spouse may petition for release of up to $2,500 from the estate as an exempt charge against estate property.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
87 N. Main St., Frenchburg, KY 40322
(606) 768-2244
SHERIFF / TAX COLLECTOR
87 N. Main St., Frenchburg, KY 40322
(606) 768-2244
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections, Marriage Licenses)
87 N. Main St., Frenchburg, KY 40322
(606) 768-3318
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
87 N. Main St., Frenchburg, KY 40322
(606) 768-3318
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Menifee County Health Department – confirm current contact via chfs.ky.gov local health department directory.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Frenchburg
Population: 6,600
Area: 204 sq mi
Established: 1869
Public Records
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