Mena Commercial Historic District

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

From the record

“The Mena Commercial Historic District encompasses the historic downtown area of Mena, Arkansas, the county seat of Polk County in western Arkansas. The district extends along Mena Street between Port Arthur and Gillham Avenues, extending a short way to the south on Sherwood Avenue, opposite the railroad tracks for which the town's existence is responsible.”
Wikipedia article Mena Commercial Historic District, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 33 National Register listings published here for Polk County · listed in 2009 · category: District.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

Address. Mena St. between Port Arthur and Gillham Ave., Sherwood Ave. between Mena and DeQueen St., and US 71 S. between Mena, Mena, 71953
When was it listed? July 2009
Category. district
Township. Center township
National Register reference number. 09000321 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

Fires near this property

48 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 48 fires within 5 miles of Mena Commercial Historic District between 1996 and 2019, burning about 569 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 6 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Debris and open burning	19
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	10
Arson/incendiarism	6
Natural	4
Equipment and vehicle use	4
Fireworks	3
Recreation and ceremony	1
Railroad operations and maintenance	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
4 September 2005	Debris and open burning	2.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
29 September 2011	Debris and open burning	5.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
28 September 2015	Debris and open burning	2.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
27 September 2011	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
26 September 2001	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
25 September 2001	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
19 September 2001	Debris and open burning	10 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
17 September 2005	Natural	33 acres	Ouachita National Forest	DALLAS MT

Every fire recorded in Polk County

Mines and quarries near this property

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Mena Commercial Historic District: 4 past producers, 1 producer, 1 prospect. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Barium-Barite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Don H Williams	Barium-Barite	Prospect
Berg Pit & Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unk	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unk	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unk	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unk	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Polk County

Storms near this property

60 of 131 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Mena, the town this property stands in, in 131 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 61 hail, 39 thunderstorm wind, 21 flash flood, 5 heavy rain. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	1 hurt, $5,000	A tree fell on a truck and injured 1 person.
April 2011	Tornado (EF1)	Mena	$350,000	The tornado destroyed a warehouse used by a snack food company. Numerous trees were blown down, with one of the trees falling on a house. A barn was damaged.
July 2009	Flash Flood	Mena	$200,000	A business was flooded and water entered approximately 10 houses. Flooding occurred on Arkansas Highway 375 west of Mena and Arkansas Highway 8. Also, several county roads were flooded. Minor street flooding occurred in Mena.
July 2014	Lightning	Mena	$100,000	Lightning caused extensive damage to the communications system at the sheriff's office in Mena.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	$75,000	Power lines and poles were blown down in Mena, leaving much of the city without power.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	$40,000	Trees were blown down on a house and vehicle on the south side of Mena.
April 2014	Lightning	Mena	$30,000	Lightning struck a tree and a house in Mena. A small fire started in the house but was quickly extinguished. Power was knocked out for about 45 minutes at the hospital, nursing home, elementary school, and high school.
July 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	$15,000	A tree fell on a house.
July 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	$15,000	Tree and power lines were down on Fairgrounds Road.
August 2014	Flash Flood	Mena	$10,000	Water covered parts of U.S. 71 and entered one home.
July 2013	Flash Flood	Mena	$10,000	Several streets were flooded in Mena. Two people were stranded in a car near downtown, but they were rescued.
January 2013	Flash Flood	Mena	$10,000	Streets and low-lying areas flooded around Mena.
April 2008	Lightning	Mena	$10,000	Lightning struck a natural gas line, causing an explosion. Three residences near the area were evacuated.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	$5,000	A portion of a deck was blown over. Numerous large limbs were blown down.
July 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	$5,000	A tree fell into a house. The five occupants were not injured.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	$5,000	Several large trees and limbs were blown down on U.S. 71.
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	$5,000	Several trees were knocked down.
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed some trees.
January 2007	Flash Flood	Mena	$3,500	Several roads across Polk County were flooded due to heavy rainfall.
January 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	$2,000	A house sustained minor roof damage (uplifted shingles and gutter damage) from straight-line winds. Additionally, a trampoline was lifted and displaced approximately 100 yards, sustaining damage as well.
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	$2,000	A power pole was blown down.
April 2025	Hail	Mena	-	Ping-pong ball sized hail fell in the town of Mena, report via mPING.
April 2025	Hail	Mena	-	Half-dollar sized hail fell in the town of Mena via mPING.
April 2025	Hail	Mena	-	Ping-pong ball sized hail fell in the community of Mena, report via mPING.
March 2024	Hail	Mena	-	A report via mPING of quarter-sized hail that fell in Mena.
July 2024	Heavy Rain	Mena	-	A 24 hour rainfall total of 3.40 inches was measured at Mena.
March 2023	Heavy Rain	Mena	-	Rainfall was measured at 3.20 in Mena.
March 2023	Flash Flood	Mena	-	Flash flooding was observed in multiple areas across the county, including water over multiple roadways.
August 2023	Heavy Rain	Mena	-	The Mena Co-Op observer measured 4.42 inches of total rainfall in a 24 hour period ending at 7:45 AM CST.
August 2023	Heavy Rain	Mena	-	The CoCorahs site at Mena received a measured amount of 4.20 inches of total rainfall within the previous 24 hour period.
July 2022	Hail	Mena	-	A trained spotter reported quarter size hail on the south side of Mena.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Trees and large limbs were down in and near Mena. The time was estimated from radar.
May 2021	Flash Flood	Mena	-	Street flooding was reported in the city of Mena.
May 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Several trees were reported down on county roads around Mena.
August 2020	Flash Flood	Mena	-	Water was over portions of Highway 88 and 375.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Several trees were downed by thunderstorm winds in and around Mena.
August 2020	Flash Flood	Mena	-	There was a water rescue near Polk Rd. 54, ditches were flooded, and water was flowing over roads.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	A tree fell on power lines in Mena and started a fire on Petros Avenue near the Mena High School.
August 2020	Flash Flood	Mena	-	Several roads were under water and impassable in and around Mena. The local airport reported 2.74 inches of rain measured between 8 pm CST and 9 pm CST.
September 2020	Flash Flood	Mena	-	Multiple house and vehicle rescues were performed as a result of widespread flooding in Polk County. Highway 71 was reported as flooded along with several county roads.
September 2020	Heavy Rain	Mena	-	The Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport measured 4.92 inches of rain since midnight.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	A tree was blown down and was across the westbound lane of Highway 8 just east of Mena.
February 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Amateur radio operators estimated wind gusts of 60 mph in Mena.
November 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	A few trees were downed.
July 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Trees were blown down west of the Mena Airport. This caused damage to power lines resulting in power outages to about 1,000 customers.
May 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Numerous trees down near and along Highway 8 in the western part of Mena.
May 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	One tree was reported down.
April 2016	Flash Flood	Mena	-	Water was reported over highway 71.
July 2016	Hail	Mena	-	Very strong winds were also observed at the time of the report.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Many trees and and power lines were blown down. Much of the damage was centered around the Mena area.
April 2009	Hail	Mena	-	Apple sized hail fell in southwest Mena.
March 2006	Hail	Mena	-	Golfball size hail was reported at Queen Wilhelmina State Park.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Several trees blown down.
March 2004	Flash Flood	Mena	-	Heavy rains caused flash flooding to occur, with a bridge washed out east of Mena.
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Thunderstorm winds downed some large tree limbs.
July 2004	Flash Flood	Mena	-	Heavy rains produced flash flooding in Mena. Several streets were flooded and impassible for a short period of time.
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees and power lines in Mena. Trees fell on several houses causing some roof damage. Some businesses sustained damage to roofs and awnings. Several signs were also blown down.
August 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down some trees and power lines.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Thunderstorm winds damaged the roofs of several buildings.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Mena	-	Several buildings sustained roof damage in and around Mena.

Every storm recorded in Polk County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Elks Lodge	under 500 feet	1998
Studebaker Showroom	0.1 miles	2000
Old Post Office	0.1 miles	1991
National Guard Armory	0.1 miles	1991
Polk County Courthouse	0.2 miles	1992
Mena Kansas City-Southern Depot	0.2 miles	1991

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 09000321 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Polk County	All 33 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.