Yell County is a county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,263. The county has two county seats, Dardanelle and Danville. 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.
Pope County is a county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 63,381. The county seat is Russellville. The county was formed on November 2, 1829, from a portion of Crawford County and named for John Pope, the third governor of the Arkansas Territory. Pope County was the nineteenth county formed. The county's borders changed eighteen times in the 19th century with the creation of new counties and adjustments between counties. The current boundaries were set on March 8, 1877.
Morrilton is a city in Conway County, Arkansas, United States, less than 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Little Rock. The city is the county seat of Conway County. The population was 6,992 at the 2020 United States census.
Ozark is a city in Franklin County, Arkansas, United States and one of the county's two seats of government. The community is located along the Arkansas River in the Arkansas River Valley on the southern edge of the Ozark Mountains. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 3,684.
Clarksville is a city in Johnson County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 9,178, up from 7,719 in 2000. As of 2018, the estimated population was 9,743. The city is the county seat of Johnson County. It is nestled between the Arkansas River and the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, and Interstate 40 and US Highway 64 intersect within the city limits. Clarksville-Johnson County is widely known for its peaches, scenic byways and abundance of natural outdoor recreational activities.
Atkins is a city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 3,016 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Russellville Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Dover is a town in Pope County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,378 at the 2010 census. Dover is located in the Arkansas River Valley, and is part of the Russellville Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Beebe is a city in White County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 7,315 at the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the second most populous in the county. The city is home to Arkansas State University-Beebe. ASU-Beebe also has branch campuses in Heber Springs and Searcy and at Little Rock Air Force Base.
Dardanelle is a city in northeast Yell County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 4,517 at the 2020 census. Along with Danville, it serves as a county seat for Yell County. It is located near Lake Dardanelle.
Little Rock is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Little Rock metropolitan area is the 81st-most populous in the United States with 748,031 residents according to the 2020 census.
Highway 247 is a designation for four north–south state highways in the Arkansas River Valley. Two are low traffic, two-lane, rural connector highways serving sparsely populated areas of the River Valley. A third segment is a four-lane divided highway bypassing Pottsville. A fourth segment mostly runs as Poor Farm Road in Morrilton among several educational buildings in the city. The first rural segment was created in 1957, with the Morrilton segment created in 1965 and a second rural segment in 1966. The final designation came in 1973. All segments are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT).
Clark Township is one of nineteen current townships in Pope County, Arkansas, USA. As of the 2010 census, its unincorporated population was 3,386. The Arkansas Nuclear One power plant is located here near the city of London, just outside Russellville.
Illinois Township is one of nineteen current townships in Pope County, Arkansas, USA. As of the 2010 census, its total population was 29,813, with 91.8 percent contained in urban Russellville.
Norristown was a 19th-century town and trading center on the Arkansas River and, later, an incorporated town on Norristown Mountain in Illinois Township, Pope County, Arkansas, United States. The town merged with Russellville on August 14, 1980.
Shiloh is a populated area that lies partly in Russellville and partly in unincorporated Pope County, Arkansas, United States. It is located between Interstate 40 and Dover on Arkansas Highway 7.
The Arkansas River Valley is a region in Arkansas defined by the Arkansas River in the western part of the state. Generally defined as the area between the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, the River Valley is characterized by flat lowlands covered in fertile farmland and lakes periodically interrupted by high peaks. Mount Magazine, Mount Nebo, and Petit Jean Mountain compose the Tri-Peaks Region, a further subdivision of the River Valley popular with hikers and outdoors enthusiasts. In addition to the outdoor recreational activities available to residents and visitors of the region, the River Valley contains Arkansas's wine country as well as hundreds of historical sites throughout the area. It is one of six natural divisions of Arkansas.
Jacob Lawson Shinn was a prosperous and influential mid to late-nineteenth-century leader in Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas. A successful merchant who established his first store in about 1852, Shinn was instrumental in bringing the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad (LR&FS) through town and moving the county seat from Dover to Russellville. At one time the wealthiest man and largest property owner in Pope County, he donated land for a railway station and right-of-way through Russellville for the LR&FS railroad as well as property for the new courthouse, the Russellville school system, and the church that he and his wife attended. After financial setbacks that reduced his wealth drastically, Shinn continued his service to the community until he died in office months after being elected mayor of Russellville.
The Dardanelle pontoon bridge was a floating bridge on the Arkansas River connecting Pope and Yell counties at Dardanelle, Arkansas. The bridge was used for nearly four decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, except for periods when its operation was interrupted by high river flows or other disruptions.
In the aftermath of the American Civil War, Pope County, Arkansas experienced a tumultuous seven-month period during the Reconstruction era known as the Pope County Militia War. This time was characterized by political and civil unrest, as four county officials, aided by an unofficial militia, purportedly manipulated county affairs to benefit their own agenda. These officials persistently urged the Arkansas governor to impose martial law in the county, with the aim of exerting greater control over voter registration and the November 1872 election.
Joseph H. Battenfield was an American newspaper publisher and merchant based in Russellville, Arkansas, in the years after the American Civil War. His weekly newspaper regularly took local officials to task over what he saw as the plundering of county wealth and published details of unwarranted attempts by county officials to get martial law declared in Pope County. On September 8, 1872, during a period that came to be known as the Pope County Militia War, his newspaper office and press were burned, supposedly by the militia of Sheriff Elisha Dodson.