Yell County, Arkansas | |
|---|---|
 Yell County Courthouse, Dardanelle | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofArkansas | |
 Arkansas's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:34°59′54″N93°27′09″W / 34.9983°N 93.4525°W /34.9983; -93.4525 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Arkansas |
| Founded | December 5, 1840 |
| Named after | Archibald Yell |
| Seat | Danville (western district); Dardanelle (eastern district) |
| Largest city | Dardanelle |
| Government | |
| • County judge | Jeff Gilkey |
| Area | |
• Total | 949 sq mi (2,460 km2) |
| • Land | 930 sq mi (2,400 km2) |
| • Water | 19 sq mi (49 km2) 2.0% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 20,263 |
• Estimate (2024) | 20,134 |
| • Density | 22/sq mi (8.4/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 4th |
| Website | yellcountyar |
Yell County is acounty in theU.S. state ofArkansas. As of the2020 census, its population was 20,263.[1] The county has twocounty seats,Dardanelle andDanville.[2] Yell County is Arkansas's 42nd county, formed on December 5, 1840, from portions of Scott and Pope Counties. It was named afterArchibald Yell, who was the state's first member of theUnited States House of Representatives and the second governor of Arkansas. He died in combat at theBattle of Buena Vista during theMexican–American War. Yell County is part of theRussellvillemicropolitan statistical area. Yell County is adry county, as alcohol is prohibited.
Native Americans first inhabited present-day Yell County and theArkansas River Valley for thousands of years prior toEuropean colonization. They used the open, fertile floodplain of theArkansas River for hunting grounds and later farming settlements. During theThomas Jefferson and Indian Removal era, manyCherokee were voluntarily relocating fromGeorgia along the Arkansas River, including in Yell County, between 1775 and 1786. A largeCherokee reservation across the Arkansas River from Yell County was established in 1815 to encourage further voluntary relocation from Georgia.
The area presently encompassed as Yell County was first settled by European settlers when James Carden built a house in 1819 among Cherokee farms in the Dardanelle Bottoms, at theconfluence of the Arkansas andPetit Jeans.[3] Lands south of the Arkansas River had been deeded to theChoctaw in the 1820s when they removed from their homelands east of the Mississippi River, but White settlement and Cherokee relocation continued apace into the 1820s. The peoples competed over the prime riverbottom lands.
In June 1823, a meeting between numerous Cherokee chiefs and acting Territorial GovernorRobert Crittenden was held under two large oak trees. Long believed by many to result in a "Council Oaks Treaty" re-establishing Cherokee title of 3.2 million acres (1.3 million hectares) north of the Arkansas River, Crittenden had no treaty-making authority, and the meeting ended with no agreement other than each party sending separate letters to Secretary of WarJohn C. Calhoun.[4][5][6]
Some Cherokee remained on their farms south of the river, the group identifying itself asBlack Dutch, intermarrying and assimilating with the area's White settlers.[7]
In 1830, theUnited States Congress enacted theIndian Removal Act, leading to further, forcible Cherokee settlement from the Southeast into the Arkansas River Valley. Cherokee,Muskogee (Creek), andSeminole were forcibly removed along theTrail of Tears through Yell County to Indian Territory (present-dayOklahoma).
Yell County was taken byUnion forces in theCivil War in October 1862. AConfederate force of about 1,500 men tried to retake Dardanelle in January 1865, failing after a four-hour battle.First SergeantWilliam Ellis of the3rd Wisconsin Cavalry received aMedal of Honor for holding his position despite multiple wounds.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 949 square miles (2,460 km2), of which 19 square miles (49 km2) (2.0%) are covered by water.[8]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 3,341 | — | |
| 1860 | 6,333 | 89.6% | |
| 1870 | 8,048 | 27.1% | |
| 1880 | 13,852 | 72.1% | |
| 1890 | 18,015 | 30.1% | |
| 1900 | 22,750 | 26.3% | |
| 1910 | 26,323 | 15.7% | |
| 1920 | 25,655 | −2.5% | |
| 1930 | 21,313 | −16.9% | |
| 1940 | 20,970 | −1.6% | |
| 1950 | 14,057 | −33.0% | |
| 1960 | 11,940 | −15.1% | |
| 1970 | 14,208 | 19.0% | |
| 1980 | 17,026 | 19.8% | |
| 1990 | 17,759 | 4.3% | |
| 2000 | 21,139 | 19.0% | |
| 2010 | 22,185 | 4.9% | |
| 2020 | 20,263 | −8.7% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 20,134 | [9] | −0.6% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[10] 1790–1960[11] 1900–1990[12] 1990–2000[13] 2010[1] 2020[1] | |||
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic - NH) | 14,710 | 72.6% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 226 | 1.12% |
| Native American | 111 | 0.55% |
| Asian | 202 | 1.0% |
| Pacific Islander | 11 | 0.05% |
| Other ormultiracial | 799 | 3.94% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 4,204 | 20.75% |
As of the2020 United States census, 20,263 people, 7,503 households, and 5,542 families were residing in the county.
As of the2000 census,[16] 21,139 people, 7,922 households, and 5,814 families lived in the county. The population density was 23 people per square mile (8.9 people/km2). The 9,157 housing units had an average density of 10 per square mile (3.9/km2). Theracial makeup of the county was 86.63% White, 1.47% African American, 0.58%Native American, 0.69% Asian, 0.03%Pacific Islander, 8.99% from other races, and 1.62% from two or more races. About 12.73% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Around 12.00% reported speaking Spanish at home.[17]
Of the 7,922 households, 33.6% had children under 18 living with them, 58.5% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were not families. About 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the county, the age distribution was 25.8% under 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 96.3 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $28,916, and for a family was $33,409. Males had a median income of $23,172 versus $18,148 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,383. About 11.7% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under 18 and 12.8% of those 65 or over.
TheYell County Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency in the county. The agency is led by the Yell County sheriff, an official elected by countywide vote every four years. Police departments in Dardanelle, Danville, and Ola provide law enforcement in their respective jurisdictions, with Bellville, Havana, and Plainview contracting with the Sheriff's Office for law enforcement services.
The current sheriff of Yell County is Nick Gault. He was elected to office in the 2022 general election.[18] The chief officer of the law in Yell County, as in all Arkansas counties, is thesheriff.
| Name | Year elected | Year left | Total lears | Notable accomplishments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theodore P Sadler | 1840 | 1846 | 6 |
|
| S. Kirkpatrick | 1846 | 1852 | 6 | |
| Joseph Garrett | 1852 | 1854 | 2 | |
| J. C. Herin | 1854 | 1856 | 2 | |
| Joseph Gault | 1856 | 1862 | 6 | |
| Lorenzo Free | 1862 | 1863 | 1 | |
| O. Wood | 1863 | 1864 | 1 | |
| William Henry Ferguson | 1864 | 1871 | 7 | |
| Jesse George | 1871 | 1872 | 1 | |
| J. A. Wilson | 1872 | 1874 | 2 | |
| Reuben E. Cole | 1874 | 1880 | 6 | |
| Levi L. Briggs | 1880 | 1882 | 2 | |
| Joseph L. Davis | 1882 | 1886 | 4 | |
| H. B. McCarrell | 1886 | 1890 | 4 | |
| Joseph Haston Howard | 1890 | 1892 | 2 | |
| Sam Gordon Albright | 1892 | 1896 | 4 | |
| B. H. Burnett | 1896 | 1900 | 6 | |
| James M. Cole | 1900 | 1904 | 4 | |
| William Franklin Briggs | 1904 | 1906 | 2 | |
| William L. Tatum | 1906 | 1910 | 4 | |
| Theodore Riley Gault | 1910 | 1914 | 4 | |
| Will T. Caviness | 1914 | 1919 | 5 | |
| J. N. George | 1919 | 1923 | 4 | |
| Joe D. Gault | 1923 | 1926 | 3 | |
| Baxter Gatlin | 1927 | 1930 | 3 | |
| Buford Compton | 1931 | 1946 | 15 | |
| Earl E Lad | 1947 | 1956 | 9 | |
| Herman D. McCormick | 1957 | 1968 | 11 | |
| Carlos Mitchell | 1969 | 1976 | 7 |
|
| Hartsell Lewis | 1977 | 1978 | 1 | |
| Denver Dennis | 1979 | 1988 | 9 | |
| Mike May | 1989 | 1992 | 3 | |
| Loyd W. Maughn | 1993 | 1998 | 5 |
|
| Bill Gilkey | 1999 | March 31, 2022 | 23 Years 3 Months |
In 2017, he became the longest currently serving sheriff in Arkansas, after 19 years in the office. He is also the longest-serving sheriff in the county's history. Gilkey has sat on state boards such as the Arkansas Crime Lab Board and Arkansas Act 309 Board. Gilkey is credited with the creation of the Yell County Law Enforcement Center in 2016, which replaced two of the county's older jails that did not meet state standards, and houses the sheriff's office. The new building also houses CID offices, revenue office, and an updated E911 dispatch center. |
| Heath Tate | April 1, 2022 | December 2022 | 9 Months |
|
| Nick Gault | 2023 | Present |
Yell County has several historical homes, structures, and monuments dedicated to preserving the history and culture of the area. TheDardanelle Commercial Historic District preserves the historic commercial hub of Yell County along the Arkansas River. TheMt. Nebo State Park Cabins Historic District preserves ten cabins built by theCivilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The county also has seven homes, three churches, and two bridges listed on the NRHP.
Upon settlement, Yell County's varied topography created a stratified society, splitting settlers between the more fertile and productive farms of the "lowlands" and thesubsistence farming of the steep and less-productive mountain soil of the "uplands".[20] Aplanter class emerged in the lowlands, and as Dardanelle evolved into a cohesive community, the large landowners moved to town and managed their landholdings from stately homes, similar to the model seen in theArkansas Delta and theMississippi Delta.[20] This left the lowlands inhabited largely by poorsharecroppers andtenant farmers, who largely shared economic fortunes with the small farms in the uplands, shifting the "upland/lowland" split to a "town-country" divide based largely on economics.
As mechanization and society evolved and Arkansas became less of afrontier, a wealthy upper class emerged in Dardanelle that came to wield societal, political, and economic power in the county. This society remained relatively closed, with separate social events and often summering on Mount Nebo with other wealthy Arkansans visiting to enjoy the cool mountain breezes.[21] With little of theindustrialization that defined theGilded Age in theNortheast andMidwest, Yell County instead retained an adjustedOld South economic model based on agriculture but adapted to a post-Reconstruction reality.[22]
The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by theConstitution of Arkansas and theArkansas Code. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are calledjustices of the peace and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year. The number of districts in a county vary from nine to fifteen, and district boundaries are drawn by the county election commission. The Yell County Quorum Court has eleven members.[23] Presiding over quorum court meetings is thecounty judge, who serves as thechief operating officer of the county. The county judge is elected at-large and does not vote in quorum court business, although capable of vetoing quorum court decisions.[24][25] Though Yell County has two county seats, the constitutional officers are not duplicated, with duties split between the two courthouses.
| Position | Officeholder | Party |
|---|---|---|
| County Judge | Jeff Gilkey | Republican |
| County/Circuit Clerk | Anna Ward | Republican |
| Sheriff | Nick Gault | Republican |
| Treasurer | Debra Craig | Republican |
| Collector | Christie Davis | Republican |
| Assessor | Sherry Hicks | Republican |
| Coroner | Tel Millard | (Unknown) |
The composition of the Quorum Court following the 2024 elections is 11 Republicans. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:[27][29]
Additionally, the townships of Johnson County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by theConstitution of Arkansas. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult.[30] The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:[29]
Over the past few election cycles Yell County has trended heavily towards the GOP. The last Democratic presidential candidate to carry this county was native ArkansanBill Clinton in 1996.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1896 | 812 | 26.32% | 2,261 | 73.29% | 12 | 0.39% |
| 1900 | 798 | 33.73% | 1,554 | 65.68% | 14 | 0.59% |
| 1904 | 913 | 44.32% | 1,079 | 52.38% | 68 | 3.30% |
| 1908 | 1,040 | 34.70% | 1,743 | 58.16% | 214 | 7.14% |
| 1912 | 436 | 17.18% | 1,401 | 55.20% | 701 | 27.62% |
| 1916 | 781 | 27.12% | 2,099 | 72.88% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1920 | 1,042 | 34.21% | 1,925 | 63.20% | 79 | 2.59% |
| 1924 | 334 | 19.15% | 1,314 | 75.34% | 96 | 5.50% |
| 1928 | 802 | 27.65% | 2,086 | 71.91% | 13 | 0.45% |
| 1932 | 272 | 11.88% | 2,010 | 87.77% | 8 | 0.35% |
| 1936 | 318 | 11.78% | 2,382 | 88.22% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 224 | 9.08% | 2,236 | 90.64% | 7 | 0.28% |
| 1944 | 489 | 22.94% | 1,642 | 77.02% | 1 | 0.05% |
| 1948 | 408 | 16.85% | 1,866 | 77.08% | 147 | 6.07% |
| 1952 | 1,243 | 39.54% | 1,884 | 59.92% | 17 | 0.54% |
| 1956 | 1,381 | 40.70% | 2,008 | 59.18% | 4 | 0.12% |
| 1960 | 1,303 | 37.96% | 2,008 | 58.49% | 122 | 3.55% |
| 1964 | 1,527 | 30.86% | 3,407 | 68.86% | 14 | 0.28% |
| 1968 | 1,819 | 34.44% | 1,513 | 28.65% | 1,949 | 36.91% |
| 1972 | 3,310 | 66.48% | 1,669 | 33.52% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1976 | 1,932 | 25.04% | 5,785 | 74.96% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 3,187 | 44.65% | 3,702 | 51.87% | 248 | 3.47% |
| 1984 | 4,051 | 59.56% | 2,679 | 39.39% | 72 | 1.06% |
| 1988 | 3,535 | 55.84% | 2,763 | 43.64% | 33 | 0.52% |
| 1992 | 2,506 | 32.79% | 4,165 | 54.49% | 972 | 12.72% |
| 1996 | 2,111 | 31.77% | 3,749 | 56.43% | 784 | 11.80% |
| 2000 | 3,223 | 49.75% | 3,062 | 47.26% | 194 | 2.99% |
| 2004 | 3,678 | 55.23% | 2,913 | 43.75% | 68 | 1.02% |
| 2008 | 3,808 | 63.09% | 2,003 | 33.18% | 225 | 3.73% |
| 2012 | 4,042 | 67.66% | 1,722 | 28.82% | 210 | 3.52% |
| 2016 | 4,608 | 71.56% | 1,480 | 22.98% | 351 | 5.45% |
| 2020 | 5,226 | 77.53% | 1,284 | 19.05% | 231 | 3.43% |
| 2024 | 5,147 | 79.47% | 1,213 | 18.73% | 117 | 1.81% |
Early childhood, elementary and secondary education within Yell County is provided by four public school districts:[32]
The Arkansas River Valley Regional Library System, is headquartered in Dardanelle and serves multiple counties and consists of one central library and six branch libraries, including the Yell County Library, a branch library in Danville.[34]
Townships in Arkansas are the divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas; some may have incorporated cities or towns within part of their boundaries. Arkansas townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, theUnited States census does list Arkansas population based on townships (sometimes referred to as "county subdivisions" or "minor civil divisions"). Townships are also of value for historical purposes in terms of genealogical research. Each town or city is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps and publications. The townships of Yell County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/orcensus-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township.[35][36]
Chiefs of the Arkansas Cherokee to the Secretary of War... on this day we have had a talk in council, among other things the boundaries of our nation was discussed.The chiefs' letter was signed by marks by John Jolly, Young Glass, Black Fox, Thomas Graves, Walter M. Webber, George Morris, and Water Minnow at the end of the meeting on June 24, 1823.
Acting Governor Crittenden to the Secretary of War... The Cherokee Indians have returned from Washington discontented and untractable... I announced to them that since their Lands had been allotted... they would be expected to remove to them; and confine themselves at least in agricultural pursuits to their own soil; they in reply said we had no right to the sovereignty of the soil on the South side of the Arkansas, and that they would NOT remove, that they were the tenants of the Choctaws, and not of the Government, and should consult them, not us, on the subject.Crittenden's latter is dated September 28, 1823.
Although this meeting is referred to as the "Treaty of Council Oaks," it was actually not a treaty-making event. Crittenden, who did not in any event have the authority to initiate treaties with Indian tribes on behalf of the U.S. government without direction from Washington, DC, supported the popular desire among non-Indians in the territory to see all Indian lands opened for white settlement and all tribes removed from the territory as soon as possible.
Places adjacent to Yell County, Arkansas | |
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Municipalities and communities ofYell County, Arkansas,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Town | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
34°59′54″N93°27′09″W / 34.99833°N 93.45250°W /34.99833; -93.45250
