 In 1830, the United States Congress enacted the Indian Removal Act, leading to further, now involuntary, Cherokee settlement in the Arkansas River Valley.Cherokee, Muskogee (Creek), and Seminole were forcibly removed along the Trail of Tears through Yell County to present-day Oklahoma.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water.