Depot replaced in 1916

The passing of a bygone era occurred more than 100 years ago when Malvern’s original railroad depot was torn down in 1916. At the time, it was one of the city’s oldest buildings, and had served thousands of travelers. Not only did the railroad transport people and goods across Arkansas and Hot Spring County in a northeast to southwest direction, but it also connected visitors to the popular town of Hot Springs.

The Cairo and Fulton Railroad line established Malvern as a railroad station in 1873. The railroad—with its depot—stimulated development of the new town along with the entire region. Rockport, located at the intersection of the Military Road and the Ouachita River, had long been the center of activity in Hot Spring County and had even served as the county seat. In just a few short years, though, with increased importance of rail travel, Malvern became the county seat in 1878. Today’s

Union Pacific Railroad runs from the Missouri state line to Little Rock and then on to Texarkana. It was originally constructed by the Cairo and Fulton Railroad. Over the course of several decades, the Cairo and Fulton first became a part of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad, then Missouri Pacific, and finally Union Pacific. The Cairo and Fulton played a major role in Arkansas’s economic development by connecting the state to the rest of the nation. Malvern served as an important stop on the rail line, and its depot was a key component of that service.

Supplementing the service offered by the main line, Joseph “Diamond Jo” Reynolds built a railroad from Malvern to Hot Springs to serve the transportation needs of the thousands of visitors to the spa city. The Diamond Jo Railroad was completed in 1875 and enabled even the infirm to make their way to the famed hot springs for years prior to the construction of a line running directly from Little Rock to the spa. Interestingly, the Diamond Jo was narrow-gauge. This meant that travelers who arrived in Malvern via the standard gauge rail had to transfer to another train at the depot (see transfer of patients on stretchers and on crutches in drawing). The line was eventually changed to standard gauge, which made travel to Hot Springs easier than ever before.

The old depot was replaced in 1916 by what the local newspaper called “the handsome pressed brick structure across the tracks.” One of the town’s earliest citizens, S.H. Emerson, recalled the arrival of the “first passenger train to ever come into the city on June 21, 1872, just below where the present water tank stands.” According to Emerson, the old depot was enlarged in order to handle the increased traffic following completion of the Diamond Jo Railroad in 1875. A large shed was added to the structure’s north side in 1880. The long-time resident and former mayor was proud to say he also witnessed “the first train of passengers at the new depot” on February 17, 1916.