Historic Sites of Arkansas
Historic Sites of Arkansas encompass a diverse range of locations that reflect the state's rich cultural, military, and social history. One of the most notable is Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs, which features the largest collection of bathhouses in the U.S., showcasing the 19th and 20th-century spa movement and an array of eclectic architectural styles. The Camden Expedition Sites in Little Rock are significant for their role in the Civil War, particularly the Union forces' attempts to link with an amphibious expedition in a challenging campaign. Fort Smith, established in 1817, highlights early American military efforts to control westward expansion and protect Native lands.
Additionally, the Old State House in Little Rock played a crucial role in public health initiatives, particularly in combating diseases like hookworm and malaria, influencing practices nationwide. The Rohwer Relocation Center serves as a poignant reminder of the injustices faced by Japanese Americans during World War II, with its cemetery marking the experience of over 10,000 evacuees. Lastly, the Toltec Mounds site provides insight into American Indian history, offering a glimpse into the ceremonial practices of ancient cultures from the Mississippi Valley. Together, these sites contribute to a deeper understanding of Arkansas's multifaceted history.
Historic Sites of Arkansas
Bathhouse Row
Location: Hot Springs, Garland County
Relevant issues: Cultural history, health and medicine
Statement of significance: This, the largest grouping of bathhouses in the country, illustrates the popularity of the spa movement in the United States during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is also an excellent collection of turn-of-the-century eclectic buildings in the Neoclassical, Renaissance Revival, Spanish, and Italianate styles. The hot springs are the resource for which the area was set aside as the first federal recreational reserve in 1832.
Camden Expedition Sites
Location: Little Rock, Pulaski County
Relevant issues: Civil War, military history
Statement of significance: The Camden expedition (March 23-May 2, 1864) involved Union forces stationed at Little Rock and Fort Smith under the command of Major General Frederick Steele. The plan called for Steele’s force to march to Shreveport, Louisiana, where it would link up with an amphibious expedition led by Major General Nathaniel P. Banks and Rear Admiral David D. Porter, whose force was to advance up the Red River Valley; once joined, the Union force was to strike into Texas. The two pincers never converged, however, and Steele’s columns suffered terrible losses in a series of battles with Confederate forces led by Major General Sterling Price and General Edmund Kirby Smith.
Fort Smith
Location: Fort Smith, Sebastian County
Relevant issues: Western expansion
Statement of significance: Established in 1817 near the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau Rivers, the first fort at this site was among the earliest U.S. military posts in Missouri Territory. The fort’s purpose was to control the encroachment into Osage lands by both the Cherokee and westward-moving American settlers. The second fort, begun in 1838 a short distance from the site of the first, was garrisoned until the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas moved to the town of Fort Smith in 1871.
Old State House, Little Rock
Location: 300 West Markham, Little Rock, Pulaski County
Relevant issues: Health and medicine, social reform
Statement of significance: From 1912 to 1916, the Arkansas State Board of Health, in partnership with the University of Arkansas Medical School, worked from this building on successful campaigns to control or eradicate hookworm, a scourge of the South, and malaria, a disease that plagued much of the planet. Arkansas’s drive against malaria was a model of success, long acclaimed in the history of public health, which was used to eradicate malaria in the rest of the United States and the world. From the town of Crossett, Arkansas, the office of the surgeon general distributed nationwide a full report of the Crossett experiment as Public Health Bulletin No. 88, and this detailed description became the formula for sanitation workers around the world.
Rohwer Relocation Center Cemetery
Location: Rohwer, Desha County
Relevant issues: Asian American history, political history, World War II
Statement of significance: Rohwer Relocation Camp was constructed in the late summer and early fall of 1942 as a result of Executive Order 9066 (February 16, 1942). Under this order, over 110,000 Japanese aliens and Japanese Americans were relocated from the three Pacific coast states—California, Oregon, and Washington. In all, ten relocation camps were established in desolate sites, all chosen for their distance from the Pacific coast. Over ten thousand evacuees passed through Rohwer during its existence, and over two-thirds of these were American citizens. The monuments found within the camp’s cemetery are perhaps the most poignant record of this time.
Toltec Mounds Site
Location: Scott, Lonoke County
Relevant issues: American Indian history
Statement of significance: A large ceremonial complex and village site, Toltec Mounds represents the northhernmost occupation during the Coles Creek Period (c. 700-1000 C.E.) and may yield information about the interaction between Lower and Central Mississippi Valley cultures. It is part of Toltec Mounds Archaeological State Park.
Anderson, Layne Livingston. Haunted Legends of Arkansas: Thirteen Historic (Super) Natural State. Plum Street Publishing, 2015.
"Fort Smith National Historic Site." Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 27 Nov. 2023, encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fort-smith-national-historic-site-4522/. Accessed 26 May 2024.
Kohl, Julie. "Historic Arkansas Adventures." Only in Arkansas, 19 June 2023, onlyinark.com/places-and-travel/historic-arkansas-adventures/. Accesseed 26 May 2024.