History
The 43 thermal springs emerging from deep within the Ouachita Mountains of central Arkansas have always been a magnet for people who believed in their healing powers.
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History Details
The 43 thermal springs emerging from deep within the Ouachita Mountains of central Arkansas have always been a magnet for people who believed in their healing powers, dating back to the Native American tribes who flocked here thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans like Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, who visited the springs in the middle of the 16th century. The springs, and the city of Hot Springs, Ark., that sprung up around them, received federal protection as early as 1832, and this reserve would ultimately become Hot Springs National Park in 1921. The Hot Springs Reservation was the first land set aside by the U.S. Government strictly for recreational purposes, decades before the first national park was established. Hot Springs was known as The American Spa in its early years, famed for treating rheumatism and other conditions; a full course of treatment included 21 baths. After the end of the Civil War, development of Hot Springs began in earnest, with six bathhouses and 24 hotels opened by 1873. The city reached its zenith in the early 20th century, with visitors drawn not just by the healing waters but also gambling, horse racing, and spring training baseball. In 1921, Hot Springs National Park was established, preserving the historic bathhouses of Bathhouse Row as well as the mountains and forests surrounding the city. The bathhouses you see are only the latest in a series of such facilities built to accommodate visitors: most date from the early 20th century, although the oldest, the Hale Bathhouse, was completed in 1893.
Difficulty
Open
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