The centerpiece of local government in all of Arkansas has traditionally been the county courthouse. It is the place where most citizens come into direct contact with government, whether it be to assess personal property, pay real estate taxes, record a deed, obtain a marriage license, or register to vote. Today’s 1936 Hot Spring County courthouse in Malvern is the only one to serve in that capacity in the memory of most area residents today, but it was certainly not the county’s first such structure.

The Arkansas Territorial Legislature carved Hot Spring County out of Clark County in 1829 to establish it as Arkansas Territory’s twentieth county (Arkansas did not become a state until 1836). The Act described the new county’s boundaries this way:  Beginning on the Pulaski County line where township line between townships six and seven intersects the same; thence west to the Washita river; thence with said river to the bayou Deroache; then up said bayou to its source: thence west to the left hand or west fork of the Fourche Caddo; thence up said fork to its head; then due west to the Little Missouri river; thence up said river with boundary line of Clark county, following said line to the place of beginning; be laid off and erected into a separate and distinct county, to be known and called by the name of Hot Spring.

In the early years, the county seat was in the village of Hot Springs, then also a part of Hot Spring County. Later, the center of government moved to Rockport and a simple frame structure served the county as the courthouse. Then, a brick building replaced the frame one in the 1860s. However, this more substantial structure was destroyed by fire in 1873, and officials operated from the lower level of the county jail building for a time. It was also in 1873 that Garland County was established from Hot Spring, Montgomery, and surrounding counties, with the town of Hot Springs as Garland’s county seat.

Eventually, a new brick courthouse was built in Malvern in 1888 at a cost of about $16,000. It boasted a Queen-Anne style and at the time, many believed it to be one of the state’s most impressive buildings of its kind.

Almost fifty years later, a new, $150,000 courthouse was built at 210 Locust Street in Malvern in 1936, during the midst of the Great Depression. It was a much different structure than its predecessors. Designed by the prestigious firm of Thompson, Sanders, and Ginocchio, and constructed by contractor William Peterson, the courthouse exhibits a high-style Art Deco architecture. Its frieze band, entrance portico, and other elements, created a style unique in Hot Spring County. It is a good example of public buildings built in this style, which was popular across the nation at the time. The Hot Spring County Court House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 as a part of a statewide multiple-property listing of Charles L. Thompson-designed structures.