The City Of Marble Falls, Arkansas

Virtual Tour of Marble Falls

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In this post, we wanted to show you an interesting place that many people drive right by and don’t even know is there. That place is the city of Marble Falls, Arkansas. Not to be confused with the falls by the same name, which can be seen from Highway 7, the city of Marble Falls is actually an unincorporated town in Newton County with a very interesting history.

The town was originally named Marble City. The reason can be seen on a historical marker that has been placed on Highway 7 just up the road from the turnoff to Marble Falls. This marker commemorates the slab of marble that was taken from a quarry nearby and used in the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. There is a place to pull off Highway 7 to view the marker.

Marble Falls landmark sign.

The original name of Marble City was changed by the first postmaster when the post office was established there in 1883. The postmaster had the last name of Willcockson, so he officially renamed the city Willcockson. The city would hold the name Willcockson from 1883 until 1934.

In 1934 Albert Raney Sr. became postmaster, and he renamed the city Marble Falls. The city would retain the name until 1966 when the property was purchased and a theme park called Dogpatch USA was built on the property. The theme park was based on the comic strip Li’l Abner. For more information on the history of Dogpatch USA, you can visit this link.

Dogpatch USA had an interesting history of its own. I can remember visiting the theme park as a kid. There were big plans for the theme park including a ski area and convention center. The area had the only ski lift built in Arkansas, but it was never a commercial success.

After the park closed the citizens petitioned to have the name changed back to the city of Marble Falls, and it was changed in 1997. The name of the city has been Marble Falls since that time.

Although many sources online state that the city is abandoned, we found that is not the case. We recorded a video of our drive through the area. The convention center and restaurant are open and have a biker theme. There are chalets that were built on the hillside along the road leading to the top of the hill that have plants, chairs, and other items on the balconies. There were lights on in some of them. There is also a motel behind the restaurant that had cars and people milling around. So, although many of the buildings were deserted, there do seem to be residents and visitors there.

In the video, you also see the old Dogpatch USA property which is fenced off and has No Trespassing signs visible wherever you look.

Watch the video to see our drive through the city of Marble Falls. The video shows us arriving at the turn to the city of Marble Falls on Highway 7 out of Harrison, AR. If you are arriving on Highway 7 from Jasper the turn-off will be on your left. If you would like to read further about the history of the city, here is a link to a Wiki page.

If you decide to visit please don’t trespass and be respectful of the current owners of the properties. Let us know if you have been there or if you have other information about the area you think our readers would enjoy.


Code (Copy & Paste to Google Maps)

4V7G+6C Marble Falls, Arkansas