Hot Springs National Park

Park Information

• Date Established: April 20, 1832
• Location: Hot Springs, Arkansas
• Area: 5,500 acres

Overview

Hot Springs National Park is an area of geothermal springs. It has long been considered an important location because of the perceived benefits of therapeutic bathing in the hot waters and consumption of mineral waters. It is the oldest protected area in the US National Park System, and in fact, predates the National Park Service by more than eighty years.

The park is valued for its cultural history and landscape. It contains many historic structures in Bathhouse Row, an area designated a National Historic Landmark. The park includes a museum in a former bathhouse, as well as landscaped grounds marked with concrete paths, fountains, historic hiking trails, and other features. At least three rare plant species grow in the park, and a stand of shortleaf pine that is thought to be virgin timber is registered with the Arkansas Natural Heritage program.

History

Human occupation of the region dates to at least 9500 BCE, but archaeologists have not found evidence that early humans used the hot springs. Tribes of the Caddo confederations dominated the region from about 800 BCE until Europeans arrived. The Caddo people largely died out as a result of European diseases. With western expansion of newcomers to North America, Native Americans, including the Quapaw and Choctaw, were displaced and briefly lived in the area through the late eighteenth century.

The United States acquired the hot springs area in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. President Thomas Jefferson ordered exploration of the hot springs of the Ouachita River. The expedition, led by William Dunbar and Dr. George Hunter, documented geology, flora and fauna, the temperature of the water, and evidence of some temporary and transient human habitation.

The first permanent inhabitant of the area was probably John Percifull. The veteran of the Revolutionary War (1775–1783) arrived around 1808 and built a cabin. He offered lodgings to visitors during the summer months, and slowly, more people arrived. The settlement grew and became known as a spa.

Hot mineral water springs had a long history as a therapy for health issues. In addition to providing heat therapy for aches and pains, hot springs and mineral water were believed to cure a wide range of ailments and diseases. Private interests in the area wanted to create and operate a health resort. Other people worked for decades to convince the federal government to keep the hot springs publicly available. The US Congress and President Andrew Jackson supported the latter group and set aside the area as Hot Springs Reservation in 1832. This prevented further settlement. This reservation of the land predated the establishment of the Department of the Interior by seventeen years. Because the federal government did not spell out how the area was to be administered, private individuals tried to claim the springs for development. After years of violence and legal actions, the US Supreme Court found in favor of the federal government in 1875. With the issue settled, Congress authorized a commission. The first superintendent, General Benjamin F. Kelly, oversaw multiple landscaping and engineering projects. Entrepreneurs built Victorian-style bathhouses. These were replaced during the early twentieth century by brick and stucco structures.

The railroads brought increasing numbers of tourists to Hot Springs. However, the popularity of bathhouses declined beginning in the 1950s. New treatments for conditions such as arthritis probably played a large part in this change. By 1985, only one Hot Springs bathhouse remained open. Bathhouse Row was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

By 2024, efforts were underway to sell the site of the Majestic Hotel within the park, hoping to find a buyer that would rehabilitate the site. However, while one buyer was found, negotiations with the Hot Springs Board of Directors fell through.

Geology and Ecology

Hot Springs National Park is located in the Zigzag Mountains of the Ouachita Mountain range of central Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. The Ouachita Mountains were formed about three hundred million years ago when two tectonic plates collided. Hot Springs National Park’s terrain is steep. The mountains were originally sharp and jagged, but over millions of years, erosion has softened their lines. Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary and include sandstone, shale, and Arkansas novaculite. The latter is very hard due to the presence of small quartz crystals and is commonly used as a whetstone, or stone for sharpening knives and other cutting tools. Archaeologists have found evidence of prehistoric quarrying of the novaculite.

The geothermally heated water of the hot springs flows from the Zigzag Mountains. Rainwater seeps into the ground, reacting with carbon dioxide in the soil to form carbonic acid. The acidic water sifts down through broken chert and novaculite—sedimentary rocks containing quartz—where it dissolves minerals, including calcium carbonate and iron oxides. Deeper underground, the water becomes warmer. This is likely caused by gravitational compression and elemental radioactive decay. After percolating through the ground, the water arrives at a depth of 6,000 to 8,000 feet (1,829 to 2,438 meters) in an area northwest of downtown Hot Springs. The hot mineral water squeezes through several large cracks in the crust. Four thousand years after it fell as rain, the water returns to the surface on the west side of Hot Springs Mountain, infused with minerals and steaming at about 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius).

About seven hundred thousand gallons of hot water flow out of the ground through forty-seven springs in the park. Most of this is harnessed by a system of pipes and reservoirs to serve commercial baths. The National Park Service has diverted some water to recreate a natural hot spring. Some water also reaches free fountains where the public may fill jugs with mineral water.

Many rock layers in the park are crisscrossed by narrow white bands. These were created when hot mineral water burst through layers of rock and left behind quartz crystals. When the hot water reaches the surface, it cools and deposits calcium carbonate, or limestone.

The park’s mountains contain a south central US pine-oak-hickory forest ecosystem. The old-growth forests are home to many bird species, including the golden eagle, great blue heron, and great horned owl. Wildlife is primarily small mammals, such as bats and rodents, including cottontail rabbits. White-tailed deer and gray foxes are also common. Reptiles and amphibians include the bullfrog and the rough green snake, as well as the Red River mudpuppy, a variety of salamander.

Bibliography

“Animals.” National Park Service, 10 Apr. 2015, www.nps.gov/hosp/learn/nature/animals.htm. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

“Enjoy the Healing Waters of This Small National Park.” National Geographic, 5 Nov. 2009, www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/hot-springs-national-park/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

Hanley, Ray. A Place Apart: A Pictorial History of Hot Springs, Arkansas. U of Arkansas P, 2011.

“Hot Springs in the Middle of Town?” National Park Service, 11 Sept. 2017, www.nps.gov/hosp/index.htm. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

“Hot Springs National Park.” Audubon, www.audubon.org/climate/national-parks/hot-springs-national-park. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

“Nature and Science.” National Park Service, 7 Dec. 2016, www.nps.gov/hosp/learn/nature/index.htm. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

Showers, David. "Developer Emailed About Majestic Hotel Site in Hot Springs." Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 6 Aug. 2023, www.nwaonline.com/news/2023/aug/06/developer-emailed-about-majestic-hotel-site-in/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

Shugart, Sharon. “Hot Springs National Park.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, 18 July 2018, www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2547. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.