Situated southwest of the center of the state is Garland County, which was created by the Act of April 5, 1873, out of territory taken from Hot Spring, Montgomery and Saline counties. It was named for Augustus H. Garland, who was elected governor the next year. On the north it is bounded by Saline, Perry and Yell counties; on the east by Saline and Hot Spring; on the south by Hot Spring, and on the west by Montgomery and Yell counties. Its area is 738 square miles. The surface is diversified, the elevation ranging from 500 to 1,200 feet.

The act creating the county named J. H. Banhousen, L. D. Belden and William Sumpter as commissioners to locate the county seat. They selected Hot Springs and in 1877 Congress, by a special act, provided that the commissioners might select a block belonging to the United States, which would be donated to the county for a courthouse site. Block No. 114 was chosen and the title passed to the county. Subsequently the county court leased this block, containing about four acres, and purchased lot No. 4, Block No. 55, on which stood a residence which was remodeled for a courthouse. This building burned in 1888, after which the present courthouse was erected on the site.

The first settlement was made where the City of Hot Springs now stands. About 1826 A. N. Sabin came from New York and settled on Sulphur Creek, east of the Hot Springs Mountain, where he built a small water mill. He was afterward judge of Hot Spring County, before the County of Garland was created.

Garland is divided into the following townships: Antioch, Bain, Baxter, Bear, Buckville, Cedar Glades, Crystal, Farmer, Hale, Hot Springs. Lee. Lincoln, Marble, Mazarn, Mill, Mooney, Mountain, Mountain Valley, Ouachita, Phillips, Sulphur, Union and Whittington. The first county officers were: J. W. Jordan, judge; R. Belden, clerk; W. J. Little, sheriff; R. W. Gibbons, treasurer; Smith Scrogin, surveyor; N. H. Cloves, coroner; J. H. Banhousen, assessor.

The Missouri Pacific, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, and the Memphis, Dallas & Gulf railroads center at Hot Springs, but the northern part of the county has no railroad. With the exception of the City of Hot Springs, Lonsdale is the only incorporated place in the county. It is on the Missouri Pacific near the eastern boundary and had a population of 166 in 1920. Cedar Glades, May, Mountain Valley and Pearcy are the most important villages. The population of the county in 1920 was 25,785.  (Source - Centennial History of Arkansas 1922; contributed by Tina Easley.)