London, AR

London is a Pope County city in the Arkansas River Valley, a short drive from Russellville and the Ozark National Forest. Its earlier name was Haddoxburg until the first postmaster renamed it London. Settlers were drawn by timber and wild game, and the town's later story was shaped by roads, nearby Russellville, and Arkansas Nuclear One. The city once had its own high school; grades moved to Russellville in stages, leaving a smaller local school system.

ATTRBrandonrush / CC BY-SA 4.0

London still has a town-hall-centered calendar. The annual London to Paris TSD Rally starts at London Town Hall, crosses the Ozark National Forest, and ends in Paris with a dinner and awards; the event makes the city's name part of a larger regional driving route. Pope County's roads, school districts, recreation, and Russellville services fill in the everyday map. London is a small Arkansas city with an unusual name, an Ozark edge, and a history that runs from timber and wild game to highways, energy, and local gatherings.