Yell County, Arkansas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Script error: No such module "Settlement short description".Script error: No such module "Infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".Expression error: Unexpected < operatorScript error: No such module "Category handler".Expression error: Unexpected < operatorScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Yell County is a county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,263.[1] The county has two county seats, Dardanelle and Danville.[2] Yell County is Arkansas's 42nd county, formed on December 5, 1840, from portions of Scott and Pope Counties. It was named after Archibald Yell, who was the state's first member of the United States House of Representatives and the second governor of Arkansas. He died in combat at the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican–American War. Yell County is part of the Russellville micropolitan statistical area. Yell County is a dry county, as alcohol is prohibited.

History

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Native Americans first inhabited present-day Yell County and the Arkansas River Valley for thousands of years prior to European colonization. They used the open, fertile floodplain of the Arkansas River for hunting grounds and later farming settlements. During the Thomas Jefferson and Indian Removal era, many Cherokee were voluntarily relocating from Georgia along the Arkansas River, including in Yell County, between 1775 and 1786. A large Cherokee 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 the confluence of the Arkansas and Petit Jeans.[3] Lands south of the Arkansas River had been deeded to the Choctaw 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 Governor Robert Crittenden was held under two large oak trees. Long believed by many to result in a "Council Oaks Treaty" re-establishing Cherokee title of Script error: No such module "convert". 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 War John C. Calhoun.[4][5][6]

Some Cherokee remained on their farms south of the river, the group identifying itself as Black Dutch, intermarrying and assimilating with the area's White settlers.[7]

In 1830, the United States Congress enacted the Indian Removal Act, leading to further, forcible Cherokee settlement from the Southeast into the Arkansas River Valley. Cherokee, Muskogee (Creek), and Seminole were forcibly removed along the Trail of Tears through Yell County to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma).

Yell County was taken by Union forces in the Civil War in October 1862. A Confederate force of about 1,500 men tried to retake Dardanelle in January 1865, failing after a four-hour battle. First Sergeant William Ellis of the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry received a Medal of Honor for holding his position despite multiple wounds.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Script error: No such module "convert"., of which Script error: No such module "convert". (2.0%) are covered by water.[8]

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Demographics

<templatestyles src="US Census population/styles.css"/>

Historical population
CensusPop.Template:Sronly%±
18503,341—
18606,333Script error: No such module "String".%
18708,048Script error: No such module "String".%
188013,852Script error: No such module "String".%
189018,015Script error: No such module "String".%
190022,750Script error: No such module "String".%
191026,323Script error: No such module "String".%
192025,655Script error: No such module "String".%
193021,313Script error: No such module "String".%
194020,970Script error: No such module "String".%
195014,057Script error: No such module "String".%
196011,940Script error: No such module "String".%
197014,208Script error: No such module "String".%
198017,026Script error: No such module "String".%
199017,759Script error: No such module "String".%
200021,139Script error: No such module "String".%
201022,185Script error: No such module "String".%
202020,263Script error: No such module "String".%
2025 (est.)19,956[9] DecreaseScript error: No such module "String".%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1790–1960[11] 1900–1990[12]
1990–2000[13] 2010[1] 2020 [1]

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 20,263. The median age was 40.3 years. 24.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.1 males age 18 and over.[14][15]

The racial makeup of the county was 75.7% White, 1.2% Black or African American, 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 12.5% from some other race, and 8.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 20.7% of the population.[15]

19.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 80.7% lived in rural areas.[16]

There were 7,722 households in the county, of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.2% were married-couple households, 19.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[14]

There were 9,246 housing units, of which 16.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 72.0% were owner-occupied and 28.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.6%.[14]

2000 census

As of the 2000 census,[17] 21,139 people, 7,922 households, and 5,814 families lived in the county. The population density was Script error: No such module "convert".. The 9,157 housing units had an average density of Script error: No such module "convert".. The racial 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.[18]

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.

Human resources

Public safety

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The Yell 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.[19] He will vacate the office on December 31st, 2026 after loosing the Republican primary, receiving only 21%, of the total votes cast, on March 3, 2026.[20] The chief officer of the law in Yell County, as in all Arkansas counties, is the sheriff.

<templatestyles src="Template:Hidden begin/styles.css"/>

Yell County Sheriffs, 1840-Present
Yell County Sheriffs[21]
Name Year elected Year left Total lears Notable accomplishments
Theodore P Sadler 1840 1846 6
  • First county sheriff
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
  • Construction of the old Danville Jail (replaced in 2016)
  • Construction of the old Dardanelle Jail (replaced in 2016)
Hartsell Lewis 1977 1978 1
Denver Dennis 1979 1988 9
Mike May 1989 1992 3
Loyd W. Maughn 1993 1998 5
  • Construction of Juvenile Detention Center (1997)
Bill Gilkey 1999 March 31, 2022 23 Years 3 Months
  • Construction of New Law Enforcement Center and Jail (2016)
  • Longest serving sheriff in Yell Count (2017)
  • Longest current serving sheriff in Arkansas (2017)

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 31, 2022 9 Months
  • Interim sheriff after Gilkey's retirement in March 2022.
Nick Gault January 1, 2023 December 31, 2026 4 Years
  • Lost primary election on March 3, 2026 by 79% of the total votes.
Rick Padgett January 1, 2027 Term Pending 4 Years
  • Became sherif-elect May 1, 2026. Opposing candidates failed to file required independent signatures by the 12:00 PM deadline.

Culture and contemporary life

Script error: No such module "Multiple image". Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

Yell County has several historical homes, structures, and monuments dedicated to preserving the history and culture of the area. The Dardanelle Commercial Historic District preserves the historic commercial hub of Yell County along the Arkansas River. The Mt. Nebo State Park Cabins Historic District preserves ten cabins built by the Civilian 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 the subsistence farming of the steep and less-productive mountain soil of the "uplands".Gleason|2017|p=_20-22|[22] A planter 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 the Arkansas Delta and the Mississippi Delta.Gleason|2017|p=_20-22|[22] This left the lowlands inhabited largely by poor sharecroppers and tenant 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.

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". As mechanization and society evolved and Arkansas became less of a frontier, 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.[23] With little of the industrialization that defined the Gilded Age in the Northeast and Midwest, Yell County instead retained an adjusted Old South economic model based on agriculture but adapted to a post-Reconstruction reality.[24]

Government

File:Yell County Courthouse 002.jpg
Yell County Eastern District Courthouse in Dardanelle

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the Constitution of Arkansas and the Arkansas Code. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are called justices 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.[25] Presiding over quorum court meetings is the county judge, who serves as the chief 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.[26][27] Though Yell County has two county seats, the constitutional officers are not duplicated, with duties split between the two courthouses.

Yell County, Arkansas Elected countywide officials[28][29][30]
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:[29][31]

  • District 1: Brent Montgomery (R)
  • District 2: Greg Dixon (R)
  • District 3: Richard Padgett (R)
  • District 4: Steven Payton (R)
  • District 5: Robert Caldwell (R)
  • District 6: Mike Taylor (R)
  • District 7: James Brown (R)
  • District 8: Carl Cross (R)
  • District 9: Jeffrey Lewis (R)
  • District 10: Tony Sigle (R)
  • District 11: Jimmy Davenport (R)

Additionally, the townships of Yell County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by the Constitution of Arkansas. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult.[32] The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:[31]

  • Crawford: William H. Gossett Jr. (Independent)
  • Danville: Bradley Apple (R)
  • Dardanelle: Gary Dennis (R)
  • Ferguson: Kenneth Jackson (R)
  • Magazine 1: Marty Weatherford (R)
  • Riley: David Campbell (R)
  • Ward: Ritchie Tippin (R)

Politics

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 Arkansan Bill Clinton in 1996. Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot

Education

Public education

Early childhood, elementary and secondary education within Yell County is provided by four public school districts:[33]

Dissolved school districts

Public libraries

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.[35]

Communities

Cities

Town

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Template:Arkansas Townships About [36][37]

<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Birta
  • Bluffton
  • Briggsville
  • Centerville
  • Chula
  • Compton
  • Crawford
  • Danville (Corinth, Danville)
  • Dardanelle (Dardanelle)
  • Dutch Creek
  • Ferguson (Belleville)
  • Galla Rock
  • Gilkey
  • Gravelly Hill
  • Herring
  • Ions Creek
  • Lamar (Plainview)
  • Magazine
  • Mason
  • Mountain
  • Prairie
  • Richland
  • Riley (Havana)
  • Rover
  • Sulphur Springs
  • Ward (Ola)
  • Waveland

Infrastructure

Major highways

Notable people

See also

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Template:Harvp.
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". 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.
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Crittenden's latter is dated September 28, 1823.
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Template:Harvp.
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Yell County Court House Records
  22. ↑ Gleason|2017|p=_20_22-0|a Gleason|2017|p=_20_22-1|b Template:Harvp.
  23. ↑ Template:Harvp.
  24. ↑ Template:Harvp.
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1". - Text list
  34. ↑ a b "ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls." Arkansas Department of Education. Retrieved on October 21, 2017.
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Refbegin/styles.css" />

  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

External links

Template:Geographic location

Script error: No such module "Navbox". Script error: No such module "navbox". Script error: No such module "Authority control".

Script error: No such module "Coordinates".

Retrieved from "http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=Yell_County,_Arkansas&oldid=9698386"