MALVERN, TEXAS. Malvern, also known as Harden's (Hardin's) Store, is at the junction of State Highway 7 and Farm Road 542, sixteen miles east of Centerville and two miles west of the Trinity River in eastern Leon County. Harden's Store was named for Augustine B. Hardin, who moved to the area in 1839. A post office was established under the name Harden's Store in 1879; in 1893 the name was changed to Hardin's Store. In 1900 the Hardin family left the area, and the name of the post office was changed to Malvern. In 1914 Malvern had a population of 200, the post office, a general store, a telephone connection, and a physician's office. Its population was ten in 1925, and that year the post office was discontinued; mail was routed to Ninevah. In 1938 Malvern had schools for forty-nine elementary pupils and seventeen senior high pupils. Malvern reported a population of 128 in 1940. In 1969 it had two businesses and a church. No more recent population figures were available.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Leon County Historical Book Survey Committee, History of Leon County (Dallas: Curtis Media, 1986).

Marie Elena Kruger