Under orders of President James Monroe, U.S. Army Colonel David Brearley and secretary of Arkansas Territory Robert Crittendon met with Black Fox and several Cherokee leaders to determine boundaries.

Approximately halfway between the state's two largest cities of Little Rock and Fort Smith, Dardanelle was a transportation and business hub, known as a marketplace for gin, rum and cotton.

Vast numbers of Czech and German families, including the Ballouns, Vodrazkas, Staneks, and Pfeiffers, came to the town in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and their impact can still be felt.

It is a large, state-of-the-art park featuring outstanding baseball facilities, a playground, soccer fields, basketball courts, and a walking/jogging trail.

In the late 19th century, a pontoon bridge between Dardanelle and Russellville replaced ferry service.

Spanning 2,208 feet, it was the longest pontoon bridge ever constructed across a moving body of water.

[11] During the 2019 Arkansas River floods, a levee just south of Dardanelle near Holla Bend failed and broke at 1 a.m. Friday, May 31.

Over the next few days water came perilously close to homes, schools and businesses in the southern part of Dardanelle but receded before causing any major damage.

[12] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km2), all land.

Racial data for Dardanelle city include the breakdown percentages of 57.9% non-Latino White, 3.6% African American, 0.5% Asian and 36.1% Hispanic, with 1,346 of 1,745 Latino residents being of Mexican descent.

A number of attractions can be found in Dardanelle or its surrounding area, including: The Arkansas River Valley Regional Library system is based in Dardanelle, which consists of one central library, located at 501 North Front Street, and six branch libraries in other communities, which provide area residents with access to print books, publications and multimedia content.

Dardanelle is halfway between the Buffalo River to the north and Hot Springs to the south on Scenic Byway 7.