October 26, 1941

A tornado killed seven people, demolished forty homes, damaged numerous businesses and homes, and caused $100,000 in damage in Dardanelle (Yell County). The following month, the Arkansas River flooded, reaching 32.1 feet, the highest river level since April 1927. The flood caused 108 refugee “county” families to evacuate to Dardanelle for ten days, and 50,000 bushels of corn were destroyed. The construction in 1969 of the Dardanelle Lock and Dam as part of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System helped control this kind of flooding.