Magnolia, AR

Magnolia is the county seat of Columbia County in southwest Arkansas and the home of Southern Arkansas University. Founded in 1853, it began as a cotton and farm-market town before the 1938 oil discovery changed the local economy. The Magnolia Blossom Festival and World Championship Steak Cookoff give the city a highly specific annual identity. Magnolia feels like a small college-and-courthouse city with agricultural roots, oil history, and a festival calendar that punches above its size.