In 1877, the Union Trust foreclosed on the Arkansas Central Railroad and sold all of its assets at public auction.

Under new ownership, the railroad became profitable, not only as a freight line, but also by providing daily passenger service from Clarendon to Brinkley and on to Helena, making stops in Marvell along the way.

In 1925, the Marvell Bottling plant was built by James Williford, only to close shortly afterward due to the high cost and shortage of sugar.

Molitor, a Marvell native, began construction on a road connecting Helena to Clarendon in 1930.

In the 1980s, under the leadership of Mayor Alma Norton, the Marvell City Park and bike trail were built on the old railroad.

[4] In 1997 cooperation with UAMS east and grant from federal government the city under mayor Clark Hall, the Marvell Medical Clinic was built with citizen donations.

The clinic expanded in only one year to include dental services and interactive two-way compressed video use for medical consultations and health education.

[5] Marvell was featured on ABC News's World News With Charles Gibson October 6, 2009, telecast as a center of infestation by newer pesticide-resistant strains of pigweed, threatening the region and raising the possibility of hand harvesting crops.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.6 km2), all land.