Yell County - American Courthouses

Yell County is named for Archibald Yell, who was a Governor of the State of Arkansas.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Logan County and Pope County

E – Conway County and Perry County

S – Garland County and Montgomery County

W – Scott County and Logan County

Created: December 5, 1840

County Seat:

Danville 1840 – present ( Southern District )

Dardanelle 1875 – present ( Northern District )

* Yell County has two county seats

County Courthouse – Danville

Location: 101 East 5th Street / Main Street

Built: 1974 – 1975

Style: Modern

Architect: Renshaw & Taylor AIA

Contractor: Harold Jones Construction

Description: The building faces south and is a one story red and buff colored brick and concrete structure. The square shaped building is located on a rise of landscaped ground in the center of Danville. The south front has a wide projecting porch supported by white colored columns. The west side of the building has a large circular section with flat roof line. In the interior are red colored brick walls. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located along the west side. The courtroom is circular. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 15th Judicial Circuit.

County Courthouse – Dardandelle

Location: 106 Union Street / Front Street

Built: 1914 – 1915

Style: Greek Revival

Architect: Frank W Gibb of Little Rock

Contractor: L R Wight and Company of Dallas, Texas

Description: The building faces southeast and is a two story red colored brick, wood and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Dardanelle. The building is “T” shaped and the southeast front has a large portico with four white colored Doric columns rising to a wide pediment. A wide white colored band runs along the roof line. On the center of the roof is an octagonal clock tower which is topped with a dome. In the interior, the former courtroom is located on the second story. The building was renovated in 1973. On the southwest side is the modern County Court Annex. Behind the courthouse is the County Jail constructed in 1976. The building is presently closed for renovation.

See: The architect, Frank W Gibb of Little Rock also designed courthouses in Bradley County, Calhoun County, Conway County, Dallas County, Franklin County and Phillips County.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Yell County Courthouse (Dardanelle)

County Court Annex – Dardandelle

Location: 108 Union Street / Front Street

Built: 2006 – 2007

Style: Modern

Architect: Crafton Tull and Charles B Smith

Contractor: Ford Engineering

See: The 15th Judicial Circuit includes Conway County, Logan County and Scott County

Description: The building faces southeast and is a one story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Dardanelle along the southwest side of the courthouse. The southeast front has a projecting center section with four white columns, A wide white colored band runs along the flat roof line. In the interior is the County Circuit Court courtroom along the southwest side. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 15th Judicial District and the County District Court of the 12th Judicial District.

History : The county was created in 1840 and Monrovia was selected as the county seat. In 1844, the county seat was moved to Danville and the first courthouse was built in 1844. The second courthouse was a two story structure built in 1873. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1974 to 1975. In 1875, Dardanelle was established as the second county seat. In 1878, the first courthouse was a rented commercial structure on South Front Street between Green and Oak Streets. The building burned on April 12, 1912 and the second and present courthouse was constructed in 1914 to 1915 at a cost of $25,000. The County Court Annex was constructed in 2006 to 2007.