Hot Springs, Arkansas
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| Natural Hot Water Cascade Hot Springs National Park Hot Springs, Arkansas |
America's Oldest Resort
A visitor's first glance of the remarkable hot water
cascades and springs at Hot Springs National
Park in Arkansas is an inspiring experience.
Steam rises from the water in the summer and on
the coldest days of the year, a unique lushness
surrounds the natural springs. Health-seekers
and the curious have been coming here for
hundreds if not thousands of years to marvel at
these natural phenomena and bathe in the warm
waters.
Native Americans discovered the "Hot Springs of
the Ouachita" long before the survivors of the
Hernando de Soto expedition visited here during
the 1500s. When U.S. Army officers arrived to
survey the frontier during the early 1800s, they
found scores of people from the East already here
and making use of the springs. They had built
crude "bathing cabins," diverting water from the
springs into dirt-lined pools. They believed, as
many people do today, that the waters held
medicinal properties.
By the 20th century, most of the springs had been
covered over and the water channeled down from
the mountainside to magnificent bathhouses.
Many of these architectural masterpieces survive
today, preserved and restored by the National Park
Service.
To learn more about Hot Springs, please follow
the links on the right side of this page. If you have
questions, please feel free to email us by clicking
the "Contact Us" button at the top of the page. We'll
do our best to find answers for you.
cascades and springs at Hot Springs National
Park in Arkansas is an inspiring experience.
Steam rises from the water in the summer and on
the coldest days of the year, a unique lushness
surrounds the natural springs. Health-seekers
and the curious have been coming here for
hundreds if not thousands of years to marvel at
these natural phenomena and bathe in the warm
waters.
Native Americans discovered the "Hot Springs of
the Ouachita" long before the survivors of the
Hernando de Soto expedition visited here during
the 1500s. When U.S. Army officers arrived to
survey the frontier during the early 1800s, they
found scores of people from the East already here
and making use of the springs. They had built
crude "bathing cabins," diverting water from the
springs into dirt-lined pools. They believed, as
many people do today, that the waters held
medicinal properties.
By the 20th century, most of the springs had been
covered over and the water channeled down from
the mountainside to magnificent bathhouses.
Many of these architectural masterpieces survive
today, preserved and restored by the National Park
Service.
To learn more about Hot Springs, please follow
the links on the right side of this page. If you have
questions, please feel free to email us by clicking
the "Contact Us" button at the top of the page. We'll
do our best to find answers for you.
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| Copyright 2007 by Dale Cox All rights reserved. www.exploresouthernhistory.com |
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