Hot Spring County was formed on November 2, 1829, by the Territorial Legislature from a part of Clark County. The county’s name came from the natural hot springs that later became world famous as a part of Garland County. The county seat is Malvern. The landscape is forested ridges, and river bottomland, with the Ouachita Mountains in the north and west and rolling hills in the southeast. Hot Spring County’s economy base is beef and dairy cattle, and cultivation of hay, soybeans, and rice. Industrial development includes lumber mills, brick plants, metals, and small industry.