December 5, 1840

Yell County, Arkansas’s forty-second county, was formed from portions of Scott and Pope counties. The northern portion of the county, adjacent to the Arkansas River, is part of the Arkansas River Valley geographic region, while the southern portion and most of the eastern portions are within the Ouachita National Forest. A small part of eastern Yell County is within the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest. Named for Governor Archibald Yell, the county boasts a forest products and lumber industry, poultry production and processing, row crops, and livestock production.