History of Hot Springs National Park

Benson, Forrest; Libbey, Donald

Hot Springs National Park, embracing the hot springs in Garland County, central Arkansas, was the first reservation of this character made by the federal government for the benefit of the public. It has special historical interest as the nucleus of that magnificent system of national parks and monuments which is preserving for us so many of the most beautiful and wonderful works of nature in various parts of the country, some of which might otherwise have been impaired by commercial exploitation, or else have long remained inaccessible to many of those who may now enjoy them. Unlike most of the other parks, however, the reason for setting aside the first national resort was not primarily for its scenic beauty, but was due to the fact that the federal authorities in charge of administering the affairs of the Missouri, and later of the Arkansas Territory, early realized the necessity of establishing a permanent and more rigid control over the hot springs, which even then were resorted to by many travelers for the supposed therapeutic value of the waters. The Hot Springs, about 47 in number, are all located along the base of Hot Springs Mountain, and produce a flow of approximately one million gallons daily. Several theories are advanced as to why these waters are hot but the generally accepted belief seems to be that the spring water, somewhere in its underground course, passes near a hot igneous intrusion that has not boon exposed at the earth's surface. The first act setting the area aside as a federal reservation was passed in 1832, the lands surrounding the hot springs having been ceded to the United States by the Quapaw Indiana in 1818. The area originally contained over 2,500 acres but has been diminished by the establishment of the city of Hot Springs, to which the government ceded, by gift, lands for street and alley purposes.