About Us :

Our county has always been a special place. President Andrew Jackson made Hot Springs, our county seat, the first Federal Reservation in 1832, the first piece of America protected for future generations. Hot Springs was, in essence, America's first national park. The county was formed on April 5, 1873, and named for Augustus H. Garland, Governor of Arkansas, U.S. senator, and Grover Cleveland's attorney general.

Unusual natural resources have drawn visitors to the Garland County area since the 1500s. Hernando de Soto was the first famous person to "stay awhile" in the Hot Springs area of Garland County. In 1832, Hot Springs National Park, became the first national reservation set aside for recreational purposes and is the only National Park within a city. The 47 springs along the base of Hot Springs Mountain sustained a thriving American Spa that attracted the famous and infamous alike to its "healing thermal waters" for more than a century.