[4] The area around Emmet had long been inhabited by the Caddo people, prior to European colonization of the Americas.

[5][6] It consisted of gently rolling hills and prairies, interspersed with dense timber and fertile lowlands.

Wildlife that had been an important sustenance for the Natives was also being removed, and over time the Caddo population was greatly diminished.

Some were following the Southwest Trail to Fulton on the Red River, while others saw opportunity in the area where Emmet would be established.

His property encompassed the area that would include the community of Burkville, precursor to the city of Emmet.

[7] U.S. Highway 67 passes through the northwest side of Emmet, leading northeast 8 miles (13 km) to Prescott and southwest the same distance to Hope.

[21][22] Ark-La Village was a re-creation of an 1880s western settlement where patrons could participate in the "daily life" of early pioneers.

[25] Though popular with tourists and local citizens, it was the traffic along U.S. Highway 67 between Little Rock and Dallas that provided Ark-La Village with most of its patrons.

Emmet is served by the Hope Prescott News, a local paper owned by a partnership of Mark Keith and Wendell Hoover.

Larger newspapers that serve the area include the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Texarkana Gazette, and the Shreveport Times.

A variety of telephone, cable TV, and internet providers are available to subscribers in Emmet, including SWARK.Today (Southwest Arkansas), Hope-Prescott.com, a local internet-news web site.