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Missouri County
New Madrid County, Missouri
The New Madrid Earthquakes and America's most dangerous fault zone - from New Madrid's extraordinary seismic significance (the 1811-12 New Madrid earthquake sequence - estimated at magnitude 7.5-8.0, among the largest earthquakes in recorded North American history - caused the Mississippi River to temporarily flow backward, created Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee, rang church bells in Boston, and was felt across two-thirds of the continent) to New Madrid's history as a significant French colonial Mississippi River settlement (established 1789, New Madrid was one of the Mississippi River's most strategic early American communities, changing hands among Spain, France, and the United States) and the ongoing seismic risk that makes New Madrid County one of the most geologically significant communities in America.
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Office: New Madrid County Emergency Management – 450 Main Street, PO Box 68, New Madrid, MO 63869 | (573) 748-2698.
Sheriff: New Madrid County Sheriff’s Office – New Madrid, MO 63869; confirm current non-emergency phone via newmadridcountymo.org.
City Police (New Madrid): New Madrid Police & Municipal Court – 342 U.S. Highway 61, New Madrid, MO 63869-0096 | Hours: Mon-Thu 7 AM-6 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. New Madrid County sits within the New Madrid Seismic Zone, an active earthquake fault region – see Section 8 below.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-61 and I-55 serve Portageville, the county’s largest city; New Madrid, the county seat, sits on the Mississippi River within the Missouri Bootheel.
Notes: New Madrid County, organized October 1, 1812, is named for the city of New Madrid, itself named for Madrid, Spain by founder George Morgan in 1789 in an attempt to secure a Spanish land grant. Roughly 15,000-16,400 residents across 697 square miles. New Madrid sits on the Kentucky Bend, a distinctive oxbow of the Mississippi River that also created an exclave of Fulton County, Kentucky.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: New Madrid County Courthouse – New Madrid, MO 63869.
Notes: New Madrid County is genuinely, historically the epicenter of the New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812 – a sequence of three quakes, each estimated above magnitude 7.0, widely described by historians as the most powerful earthquake sequence in recorded U.S. history. Felt from Canada to New Orleans and as far as Boston and even London, the quakes rang church bells on the East Coast, caused the Mississippi River to temporarily reverse course and form new lakes, and produced thousands of aftershocks over more than a year. The New Madrid Historical Museum, housed in a former riverside saloon on Main Street, documents the earthquakes alongside Native American Mississippian-era artifacts, a Civil War room covering the nearby Battle of Island No. 10, and an active seismograph. New Madrid remains within the modern New Madrid Seismic Zone, an area still monitored for significant earthquake risk.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: New Madrid County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via newmadridcountymo.org.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center (Poplar Bluff); confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
New Madrid County Library (headquarters, Portageville branch) – 305 E Main St, Portageville, MO 63873 | (573) 379-3583; the county library system operates seven locations across New Madrid, Gideon, Matthews, Morehouse, Parma, Portageville, and Risco, with a dedicated Local History Room at the New Madrid Memorial Branch, 431 Mill Street, New Madrid, MO, for family and county history research.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The New Madrid Historical Museum, the historic Kentucky Bend oxbow of the Mississippi River, and the Battle of Island No. 10 Civil War site are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquake sequence is one of the most historically significant natural-disaster facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: New Madrid County Assessor – confirm current contact via newmadridcountymo.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated New Madrid County animal shelter was confirmed – flagged honestly rather than smoothed over. The statewide Humane Society of Missouri Animal Cruelty Task Force has conducted rescue operations in New Madrid County; confirm current local options via newmadridcountymo.org or the Sheriff’s Office.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: New Madrid County – confirm current contact via newmadridcountymo.org.
NOTES: New Madrid County is the third county in the eleventh batch of the Missouri v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquake sequence is one of the most historically significant natural-disaster facts covered anywhere 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 New Madrid County
New Madrid County sits at the epicenter of the New Madrid Seismic Zone – a southeastern Missouri Mississippi River community where the most catastrophic earthquake sequence in recorded eastern North American history occurred in 1811-12.
New Madrid (the county seat, population ~3,000) on the Mississippi River was established as a Spanish colonial outpost in 1789. The 1811-12 earthquakes – occurring over several months – temporarily reversed the flow of the Mississippi River, created new lakes, destroyed settlements, and were felt from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The New Madrid Earthquake Museum documents this extraordinary geological event and its ongoing risk.
Geologists estimate that a repeat of the 1811-12 sequence would cause catastrophic damage to Memphis, St. Louis, and the surrounding region – making New Madrid County the focus of significant earthquake preparedness research.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
New Madrid County Assessor at 450 Main Street, New Madrid, MO 63869, phone 573-748-2918. MO residential assessed at 19% of true value. Appeal to Board of Equalization.
Courts & Legal
New Madrid County Circuit Court at 450 Main Street, New Madrid, MO 63869, phone 573-748-2524, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
450 Main St., New Madrid, MO 63869
(573) 748-2524
Genealogy
County-level record sources
New Madrid County Circuit Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
New Madrid is famous as the epicenter of the powerful 1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes.
Local societies
No dedicated New Madrid 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
New Madrid County Circuit Court, Probate Division 450 Main Street, New Madrid, MO 63869 (573) 748-2228
New Madrid County was founded October 1, 1812, named after Madrid, Spain, in Missouri’s Bootheel region, seated in New Madrid (though Portageville is the county’s largest city).
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Missouri probate is governed by Title XXXI of the Missouri Revised Statutes (Chapters 470-475), the Probate Code.
Small Estate Affidavit (RSMo § 473.097) – available when the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $40,000. A 30-day waiting period after death applies, and only if no application for letters is pending. If the property listed is worth more than $15,000, the clerk must publish a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. A bond may be required. Once the court issues a certified small estate certificate, the affiant presents it directly to whoever holds the property to collect and distribute assets – avoiding full probate. Typical timeline: about two months to close, versus six months to a year or more for full probate.
Formal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. A petition for Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one) is filed with the probate division. After review, the court appoints the personal representative and issues the letters. Missouri offers both supervised and independent administration. Missouri requires an attorney to represent the personal representative in both types of administration.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a petition with the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors have 6 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
Within 30 days of appointment (unless the court extends the deadline), the personal representative files an inventory and appraisement of all estate assets.
After debts are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and files a final settlement with the court to close the estate.
What it costs
Missouri sets statutory minimum fees for attorneys and personal representatives based on a percentage of the estate’s value, though additional fees may be allowed for extraordinary services.
Missouri has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
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
450 Main St., New Madrid, MO 63869
(573) 748-5555
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
450 Main St., New Madrid, MO 63869
(573) 748-2524
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MO Dept of Social Services — New Madrid
(573) 748-2601
Missouri Delta Medical Center
modeltamedcenter.com (Sikeston — accessible major regional hospital)
New Madrid County Memorial Hospital
nmcmh.org (New Madrid — quality critical access hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: New Madrid County Health Department – confirm current phone via newmadridcountymo.org.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: New Madrid
Population: 17,000
Area: 674 sq mi
Established: 1820
Tier: 3
Public Records
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