Gulpha Gorge Campground: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Hot Springs National Park, National Park Service

Regions 3, 4, & 5 Cultural Landscapes Program

The Gulpha Gorge Campground is part of Hot Springs National Park in eastern Arkansas, several miles northeast of downtown Hot Springs, Bathhouse Row, and the Fordyce Visitor Center. The 16-acre site, containing a campground and picnic area, is bordered on the east by U.S. Highway 7S and on the west by Gulpha Creek. The valley landscape is flanked by Indian Mountain and Hot Springs Mountain, contributing to a dramatic sense of enclosure that is one of the several unique aspects exhibited by the setting. The campground is located approximately three miles away from the core of downtown, connected by the park’s extensive network of trails. Two periods of significance have been identified for the Gulpha Gorge Campground. The first is 1924-1934, a span of years that includes property acquisition, initial construction, and Civilian Conservation Corps/Civilian Works Administration (CCC/CWA) involvement at the campground. The second period reflects Mission 66-era funded construction activities between 1960 and 1965. During both periods, the campground is locally significant for its associations with trends in recreation and landscape architecture. Features at the campground represent additions from both periods of significance. The general camp layout, many of the stone retaining walls, stone and concrete ruins associated with two non-existing dams, and the “Caretaker’s Cabin” are remnants of the first period of construction. The rock walls, campfire ring, steps, two of the three comfort stations, and amphitheater are associated with the second period. Alterations to the overall layout campground were made at this time, also. Vegetation and mature trees growing on the site date to both periods of significance. The Gulpha Gorge Campground retains integrity of location, design, setting, feeling, and association. The aspects of materials and workmanship have diminished slightly due to the loss of several key features such as the dams and associated swimming pool, original comfort stations, foot bridge, bathhouse, and original community hall, which underwent several instances of rehabilitation/remodeling over time and is currently identified as the contact station. Certain elements of the original building may lie within this modern building. The overall condition of the campground is considered good: the landscape exhibits no clear evidence of major negative disturbance and deterioration by natural and/or human forces. The landscape’s cultural and natural values are as well preserved as can be expected under the given environmental conditions, and no immediate corrective action is required to maintain its current condition. Despite changes over the years, the retention of important landscape characteristics such as the overall spatial organization and layout, land use, circulation, topography, vegetation, setting and natural systems serves to reinforce the historic character and integrity of the landscape, assisting in conveying the campground’s significance. Since 1924 when the park acquired the campground, the landscape has undergone an evolution that is reflected in the losses and additions, as well as the continuity of form, order, use, features, and materials. The campground provides an excellent example of a landscape that exhibits continuity, while also acknowledging a chronological layering.

Gulpha Gorge Campground: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Hot Springs National Park, National Park Service

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