Malvern, Arkansas, United States

🇺🇸 Malvern is a city in and the county seat of Hot Spring County, Arkansas, United States. Founded as a railroad stop at the eastern edge of the Ouachita Mountains, the community's history and economy have been tied to available agricultural and mineral resources. The production of bricks from locally available clay has earned the city the nickname, "The Brick Capital of the World".

History Named after Malvern Hill, Virginia, Malvern was founded in 1870 by the Cairo and Fulton Railroad as a city site 21 miles (34 km) south-east of Hot Springs. On October 15, 1878, Malvern officially became the county seat of Hot Spring County. The original inhabitants of the county were Native Americans, trappers, hunters, and farmers.

The Hot Springs Railroad, often referred to as the Diamond Jo line, was established as a narrow-gauge railroad by Chicago businessman Joseph Reynolds in 1874. Reynolds began building the Hot Springs Railroad, which extends north-west from Malvern Junction, a station on the Cairo & Fulton, to Hot Springs, after he had endured unsatisfactory stagecoach rides to the latter city. Because Malvern was the closest railroad station to Hot Springs, it became an important junction point for passengers transferring from rail to stagecoach to complete their journey to the spas in Hot Springs. This was the only railroad into Hot Springs for 15 years. The opening of the Little Rock & Hot Springs Western Railroad in April 1900 provided a more direct access to Hot Springs from Little Rock and the north, and both the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf and the Iron Mountain took advantage of this route, effectively cutting the volume of interchange traffic into Malvern. By 1902 passenger train shuttle service through Malvern had essentially ended.

The Malvern Police Department lost Carson Smith, the deputy, and three officers in the line of duty, all shot to death during the 1930s. They were Clyde Davis, Leslie Lee Potts, and Hiram Potts. Davis and Leslie Lee Potts were both shot during a domestic dispute on April 21, 1933, a shootout in which they killed the suspect. Hiram Potts, who was related to Leslie Lee Potts, was shot and killed during his March 4, 1935, attempt to arrest two men who were boarding a train illegally.

During World War II, hundreds of Malvernites moved to the Los Angeles area to take advantage of work in the shipyards—apparently spurred by a couple of residents who found work there and wrote home boasting of 88-cent/hour jobs, which was a decent wage for the time.

Geography Malvern is in north-eastern Hot Spring County, south-east of the Ouachita River where it exits the Ouachita Mountains. It is bordered to the north by Rockport and to the east by Perla.

Interstate 30 passes through the north-west part of Malvern, with access from Exits 97, 98, and 99. I-30 leads north-east 44 miles (71 km) to Little Rock, the state capital, and south-west 100 miles (160 km) to Texarkana. U.S. Route 67 (Page Avenue) runs through the centre of Malvern, leading north-east 22 miles (35 km) to Benton and south-west 25 miles (40 km) to Arkadelphia. U.S. Route 270 passes north-east of Malvern on a bypass, leading east 24 miles (39 km) to Sheridan and north-west 20 miles (32 km) to Hot Springs. Arkansas Highway 9 (Main Street) leads south from the centre of Malvern 64 miles (103 km) to Camden.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Malvern has a total area of 8.7 square miles (22.6 km²), of which 8.6 square miles (22.4 km²) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²), or 0.79%, are water.

Economy The city is home to three Acme Brick plants and several other manufacturing companies, including Weyerhaeuser, Borden Chemical, Adams Face Veneer Company, and Pactiv. It is also the home of Grapette International, the manufacturer of Grapette soda. Malvern is the location of the Ouachita River Unit, a medium security prison.

Annual cultural events Every year on the last weekend of June, Malvern City Park hosts Brickfest, an event that fills the city with music, food and activities that include a brick toss, brick car derby, and a best-dressed brick contest. Malvern also hosts Malvern Cruise Nite once a month, and the Hot Spring County Fair and Rodeo each fall.

Economy: Tourist Industry History in Malvern can be found throughout the central city, including ten National Register of Historic Places listings. Located at 210 Locust Street in downtown Malvern, the art deco Hot Spring County Courthouse has been the centre of county government since its construction in 1936. Also located downtown is the Bank of Malvern building, historically notable both for its distinct variation of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture and its importance in transitioning Malvern from an agricultural-based economy to one based on industry. The Hot Spring County Museum is located in the Boyle House at 302 East Third Street in Malvern.

Malvern hosts one of two whitewater parks in the state of Arkansas, located on the Ouachita River. (The other park is in Siloam Springs.) Used for training Olympic kayakers and river rescue teams, the river-wide ledge runs year-round, and is dam-released. A zip line and nature hike are available along Ouachita Bend.

Education *Ełementary and secondary * Public education for early childhood, elementary and secondary school students within the Malvern city limits is provided by Malvern School District, which leads to graduation from Malvern High School.

Glen Rose School District of Glen Rose (including Glen Rose High School) and Magnet Cove School District (including Magnet Cove High School) have Malvern postal addresses, but have no facilities in Malvern and do not include any portion of the Malvern city limits.

*Postsecondary * • Arkansas State University Three Rivers

Media The city's newspaper is the Malvern Daily Record, established in 1916. It publishes an afternoon edition Tuesday through Friday with a Saturday morning "Weekend Edition" The city also has two radio stations, KLBL (101.5), a Classic Hits format, and KZYP AM-1310, a sports station.

Transport Malvern is connected on road by Interstate 30, U.S. Route 270, and U.S. Route 67. Amtrak's Texas Eagle provides daily passenger train service to Malvern on a route extending from Chicago to Dallas and Los Angeles, and railroad freight service to Malvern is provided by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Arkansas Midland Railroad, the latter operating over the route of the original Hot Springs Railroad. The Malvern Municipal Airport (FAA Identifier: M78) serves the Malvern area.