Malvern, AL

Malvern is a Geneva County town whose name has had a couple of lives. It was named for the Battle of Malvern Hill, then briefly became Eagan in 1901 after the Central of Georgia Railroad came through. The rail line opened a route for timber, turpentine, naval stores, and farm products, while sawmills, cotton gins, and stores filled out the town's early commercial map. By 1909 maps were again calling it Malvern, and the post office followed in 1912. Today the place sits at the meeting of State Highways 27, 52, and 85, but its clearest local story is the town name that changed with the railroad and then changed back.