Originally named Shawnee Town, Yellville was renamed after Archibald Yell who was the first member of the US House of Representatives from Arkansas and the second Governor of Arkansas. Yellville existed before the state of Arkansas was accepted into the United States in 1836, but under a different name. The actual name of Yellville is explained by Marian Burnes in the 1979 book, The History of Marion County:
In 1836 Marion County was formed...At that time, Yellville was chosen as a name for the town, in honor of Arkansas's second governor, Archibald Yell. The story has been handed down that he wanted the new town named in his honor and offered the founding fathers $50 to do so. They named it Yellville, but the $50 was never paid. Before Archibald Yell, the settlement was called Shawneetown for the Indian villages located here. Yell fought in the Mexican War under General Zachary Taylor and died in the war in 1848. The name Yell can be seen across Arkansas, as in Yell County AR and Archibald Yell Boulevard in Fayetteville AR. At least two biographies of Yell have been written, the most recent published by the University of AR Press in Fayetteville.
In the late 1840s it was the scene of several intense gunfights during the Tutt-Everett War. Interestingly current relatives of Governor Yell read about how Yellville got its name and in 2006 paid the naming fee without interest.
Resources courtesy of:
Michael E. Kelly
Attorney at Law, P. A.
207 E. Old Main Street
Yellville AR 72687
(870) 449-4248
FAX (870) 449-1190
kellylaw@yellville.net