Ménil-en-Xaintois is a rural commune set on the Vosges Plain, crossed by the former National Road RN66, now declassified to RD 66 but still connecting Epinal to the east-south-east with Bar-le-Duc to the north-west.

Writing in the early eighteenth century, the historian of Lorraine, Dom Calmet believed that the village was the same as Ménil la Tour mentioned in ancient title records.

The village is listed in a schedule confirming the assets of Deuilly Priory (now replaced by a hamlet in modern Serécourt) drawn up in 1118 by the Bishop of Toul.

The area was spared the worst of the destructive violence of the late eighteenth century, though the administrative reforms and secularization that followed the French Revolution were far reaching in their effect.

The second half of the nineteenth century was a period of surging nationalism across most of Europe, and in 1884 the parish priest had the idea of establishing a theatre in the village in order to put on a play in honour of Joan of Arc.

At the height of its fame, the little theatre attracted audiences from the leisured classes visiting surrounding thermal spas, as well as religious/political pilgrims from the big cities and beyond, including Jules Méline, Maurice Barrès, and the Shah of Persia.

During the Second World War, exploiting the excellent views of the surrounding area from the higher ground in the commune, the German military installed a radar base which operated from 1941 until September 1944.