HOT SPRINGS Guidebook 1940

OPEN ALL YEAR				Hot Springs NATIONAL PARK ARKANSAS
				PEDESTRIAN ENTRANCE TO HOT SPRINGS MOUNTAIN

THE hot springs of Arkansas, 47 in number, included in the Hot Springs National Park, are situated in a picturesque wooded portion of the Ouachita (pronounced Wash-i-taw) Mountains. The park and the city of Hot Springs, adjoining it, are near the center of the State, about 50 miles southwest of Little Rock.

In 1832 the hot springs and the four sections of land surrounding them were, by act of Congress, set aside for the future disposal of the United States, not to be entered, located, or appropriated for any other purpose whatever, thus preserving the waters of the springs in perpetuity, free from monopoly and commercial exploitation. In 1921, by act of Congress, the area was changed from the Hot Springs Reservation to the Hot Springs National Park.

The park contains 1,016 acres and includes Hot Springs, North, West, and Sugar Loaf Mountains, portions of Indian Mountain, and Whittington Park.

ADMINISTRATION

The Hot Springs National Park is under the control and supervision of the Director of the National Park Service. The officer in immediate charge is the superintendent, Preston P. Patraw, whose post office address is Hot Springs, Ark.

The superintendent has charge of all general matters connected with the Government's interests, enforces the rules and regulations of the Department, supervises sanitation, hydrotherapy, and the operation of bathhouses, has charge of the Government free bathhouse for the indigent, the instruction and supervision of bath attendants and the determination as to their fitness for employment, and the operation of the auto camp.

ADMINISTRATION BUILDING Werner Photo

HOT SPRINGS—THE CITY

Administration of the national park by the Federal Government does not extend to the city of Hot Springs, which operates under its own municipal and State laws. Whenever the interests of the two join in promoting community welfare, they coordinate their efforts for the common good.

Hot Springs, with its central location and excellent accommodations, offers peculiar advantages as a convention city. As a result of years of experience, efficient handling of conventions, from both a business and entertainment standpoint, is assured.

There are many hotels in Hot Springs, the largest affording accommodations for more than 1,000 guests and equaling in service and cuisine those of other well-known resorts and watering places in America and Europe. Among the larger hotels, visitors have a choice between those operating on the European plan and those on the American plan. Several hundred boarding places, ranging in price from $7 per week upward, also are available. Those desiring permanent or light-housekeeping quarters will find kitchenette and standard apartments and cottages, furnished and unfurnished, which may be rented at prices from $20 per month up. In all, Hot Springs will house comfortably 25,000 visitors at one time.

Lists of hotels, boarding houses, and other accommodations, as well as general information regarding transportation, road maps, and recreation features, may be obtained from the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce.

PUBLIC CAMPGROUND

For automobile tourists, the Government operates a modern tourist camp in the Gorge, a beautiful valley at the foot of the eastern slope of Hot Springs Mountain. Fireplaces and tables are available for picnic use. A large swimming pool fed by fresh running water is located in the heart of the campsite, with dressing rooms available for both men and women. The camp is 2 miles distant from the center of the city of Hot Springs.

"AT HOME" IN THE TRAILER CAMP Werner Photo

HOW TO REACH HOT SPRINGS

BY RAILROAD.—Hot Springs is served by the Missouri Pacific R. R. and Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Ry. Through sleeping cars are operated daily by the Missouri Pacific between Memphis, New Orleans, St. Louis, Omaha, Kansas City, and Hot Springs; and between Chicago and Hot Springs via the Chicago & Alton R. R. and Wabash Ry. north of St. Louis, connecting with the Missouri Pacific going south; also between Chicago, Memphis, and Hot Springs via the Illinois Central R. R. and Chicago. Rock Island & Pacific Ry.

Passengers enroute to other destinations will find stop-over privileges available on both one-way and round-trip tickets for the purpose of making side trips to Hot Springs.

BY AUTOMOBILE.—Hot Springs is located on two transcontinental motor highways, the "Broadway of America" and the Lee Highway, as well as on U. S. Highways Nos. 67, 70, and 270, which are all-year, hard-surfaced roads. In addition, the State government has provided many hard-surfaced roads throughout Arkansas, some of which afford unusual scenic attractions, and all of which connect with the main arteries of interstate highway travel.

BY BUS.—The Arkansas & Dixie Motor Coaches, Missouri Pacific Transportation Co., Santa Fe Trail System, and Tri-State Transit Co., with their connections, provide bus service to Hot Springs. During the summer months low round trip fares to the park are in effect from practically all points in the United States and Canada. In adition, convenient side trips and stop over privileges may be arranged on bus tickets to or via most points in Arkansas, allowing passengers to include a side trip to the park.

BY AIRPLANE.—American Airlines, with its connecting services to all points of the United States and its through service from New York, Buffalo, Boston, Cleveland, and Chicago to Los Angeles, has Little Rock, Ark., as a regular stop.

The Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce owns and maintains a conveniently located airport where ships of any type may land and take off and be serviced.

TRAIL HIKING ON NORTH MOUNTAIN Werner Photo

CLIMATE AND RECREATION

Hot Springs has a favorable climate the year around. The winters are mild, permitting outdoor recreation in comfort except at infrequent intervals, while the summers are moderated by the elevation of the rugged hills, with their forests of fragrant pine and mixed hardwoods.

The beneficial effects of outdoor life in Hot Springs, with its pure atmosphere and sunshine, are considered important aids to the bath treatments.

As a resort, Hot Springs has a popular appeal throughout the year, offering numerous and varied attractions. The majority of persons from the more northerly States make their visits during the autumn, winter, and spring months, while most of the summer visitors' come from the Gulf States and those immediately adjoining Arkansas.

Life in the open offers almost every form of diversion. Motoring, horseback riding, and tramping through the pine forests of the park are popular. The mountain roads adjacent to the park are numerous and lead through interesting Arkansas mountain-life settings. Many side trips to scenic places of interest and recreation require only a few hours' motor trip. On Catherine and Hamilton Lakes, created through the building of two large hydroelectric dams on the Ouachita River near Hot Springs, motor-boating, sailing, canoeing, and fishing are enjoyed. Many streams also are accessible for fly fishing.

Excellent facilities for golf are found at the Hot Springs Golf and Country Club, where there are 3 complete 18-hole courses. At Oaklawn Park there is a 9-hole course.

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF THE AREA ABOUT HOT SPRINGS, ARK., SHOWING THE PROBABLE ORIGIN OF THE SPRINGS AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE ROCKS AND THEIR STRUCTURE ON THE UNDERGROUND ROUTE OF THE WATER

GEOLOGY

The rocks exposed in the park are all sedimentary, so called because they were deposited as sand and mud in horizontal layers on the floor of a sea, since disappeared. Thereafter intense horizontal pressure from the southeast in Coal Age (Pennsylvania) time compressed, fractured, and folded the rocks into wave-like mountain ridges, with faults (breaks) developed along lines of great strain. This elevated land was eroded over long ages of time until it became a low plain. Then followed another uplift, another period of erosion, and another uplift. Erosion since then has produced our present topography.

The 47 hot springs are located along a fault-line in a small area at the southwestern base of Hot Springs Mountain. In this area is an abundance of porous rock, called tufa, which was deposited from the hot water.

Although the exact mechanism of the hot springs is unknown, several theories have been advanced. The most favored is the meteoric theory which supposes that the rain water which sinks into the valley floor between Sugar Loaf and West Mountains finally emerges in the hot springs. The rain water follows the downward slope of the rocks under North and West Mountains to the southeast, being confined between impervious beds of shale. Somewhere in its underground path the water is believed to be heated by passing close to a mass of hot rock. Since the rocks overlying the water-bearing strata are quite impervious, the heated water reaches the surface along a line of weakness, presumably the fault.

According to another theory, the hot springs water has never before been at the surface of the earth, but comes from heated rocks of the earth's interior. Such magmatic or juvenile water escapes from molten rock that is cooling and rises to the surface. Other sources of heat have been suggested to explain the temperature of the water, among which are the following: (1) Heat from chemical reactions taking place near the water; (2) Heat of friction from rock masses sliding along each other; (3) Heat of compression due to overlying rock burden; (4) Heat from radioactive minerals.

Whatever the source of water and its heat, the springs continue to have a constant daily flow of almost a million gallons of water, with a constant temperature of more than 140° F.

MAP OF HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK AND PORTION OF CITY SHOWING LOCATION OF BATHHOUSES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. (click on image for a PDF version)

PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE

A dense forest covers the steep rocky hills of the park. Oaks, pines, and hickories occur in greatest abundance. Huckleberries predominate in the thick forest understory. Many of the trees have attractive flowers and leaves, the autumn foliage being particularly colorful.

Wildflowers bloom every month of the year. Goldenrod, aster, bitterweed, coreopsis, and black-eyed susan make particularly noticeable natural displays. Lichens, mosses, ferns, grasses, and sedges occur abundantly.

The animal life consists of a few common mammals, several species of lizards, snakes, turtles, salamanders, and frogs, and more than 90 species of birds.

SCENIC ROAD ON WEST MOUNTAIN Grant Photo

PARK INTERPRETATION SERVICES

A modern museum is housed in the Administration Building at the corner of Central and Reserve Avenues, including displays depicting geologic history; mechanism of the hot springs; rocks, minerals, and fossils; prehistoric culture; early and recent history; development of bathing; interesting plants and animals; and scientific studies of the hot waters.

Self-guided nature trails, with interesting trees, rock exposures, and other natural features labeled at the wayside, are maintained for hikers and nature lovers. Seasonally, illustrated lectures upon a variety of subjects pertaining to Hot Springs and other national parks are offered, free of charge, to the public.

INTERIOR OF BATHHOUSE Deluxe Studio Photo

THE CHARACTER AND ACTION OF THE WATERS

Analyses of 47 hot springs have shown the waters to be practically identical in chemical composition. The waters from all these springs are impounded in reservoirs and all bathhouses receive exactly the same water. The water temperature in the central collecting basin is always over 140° F.

The water from the hot springs is generally considered to have definite favorable therapeutic effects. It is used exclusively in the bathhouses at Hot Springs National Park with satisfactory results in the approved methods of modern water treatment. This includes full and partial immersion baths of different types, and also by means of vapor cabinets, in the equivalent of the well-known Russian baths. This form of treatment is of service where increased elimination is desired, as in obesity, chronic rheurmatism, and mild Bright's disease.

The full immersion warm spring water bath is used in several forms. The customary or "standard" bath is a neutral bath for about 15 minutes. The bather is advised to drink freely of hot water during the bath, and a free perspiration results. While submerged, the bather is given a vigorous massage by the attendant. The attendant also rubs the bather down with a fiber mitt and concludes the bath with a short graduated shower. The bather, while reclining in a cooling room, then enjoys a rest period. This bath, in addition to the usual eliminative effect, is followed by relaxation and a sedative effect. It is the form of bath customarily taken by visitors to the park who desire relaxation or seek recuperation and may be taken without a physician's directions.

Partial immersion baths at Hot Springs National Park are often prescribed. Various bathhouses are equipped for the sitz bath, leg bath, and hand-and-arm bath given by properly trained attendants.

Besides the different forms of baths, showers, sprays, and douches are given by means of modern apparatus and following the directions of the bather's physician.

In conjunction with each of these types of treatment, drinking the hot water is considered a great aid. Several fountains at convenient locations in the park furnish free hot water direct from the springs.

Increase in bodily resistance in bathers availing themselves of the Hot Springs water has long been noted in the improved general health, strength, and vitality in persons in a run-down or debilitated condition. It has also been noted that chronic joint troubles (arthritis) so often seen in cases of slow absorption of poisons of bacterial origin almost invariably improve.

The thermic physiotherapy pool at Hot Springs is used primarily for muscle reeducation in cases of paralysis. The buoyant effect of the water enables the patient to exercise and hence develop muscles impossible to use when not submerged. These voluntary or resistive movements are much more effective in muscle reeducation and development than are passive or assistive movements given them by a physiotherapist when the part is not submerged. This treatment is materially aided by the readily regulated temperature of the water of Hot Springs. Caution is taken to prevent overwork or fatigue, a result often following submerged exercises. Only qualified physical therapists give these treatments.

This form of therapy is particularly used in various paralyses following anterior poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis) and other nerve lesions leading to weakening and nonuse of muscles still capable of development.

A second class of cases successfully treated in the thermic hydrotherapeutic pool is that comprised under the term "arthritis of joints." The stiffness, pain, and spasm common in these joints are reduced when the patient is submerged in the warm, spring water of the pool. Motions of wide range, painful and often impossible when attempted under ordinary conditions, may be given by the physiotherapist in the pool.

ALL SPRINGS ARE CLOSED EXCEPT ONE, WHICH IS OPEN FOR DISPLAY Werner Photo

PHYSICIANS

While the baths may be taken with out the advice of a physician by procuring a permit at any of the bathhouses receiving water from the hot springs in the park, this practice is not recommended. Patients who assume to determine the nature of their ailments and to prescribe for themselves often fail to obtain the desired relief. The waters are not beneficial in all diseases and in some are harmful. In many ailments the baths will not afford material benefit unless taken in connection with proper medicines prescribed by physicians.

The only physicians allowed to prescribe the waters of the hot springs are those licensed practitioners of the State of Arkansas who have been examined by a Federal board of medical examiners appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. Physicians who have not passed the Federal board and been registered in the office of the superintendent are not permitted to make use of the baths in the treatment of their patients. This rule is for the protection of visitors who, if they desire the baths, should secure a copy of the registered list of qualified practitioners at the Information Desk in the Park Administration Building before employing a physician.

Physicians' fees for examination for the baths are from $5 to $10.

PAY BATHHOUSES

There are 17 pay bathhouses operated under rules and regulations approved by the Secretary of the Interior, 8 in the park and 9 at various points in the city. The water is the same in all, but prices charged for the baths vary according to equipment and accommodations furnished. Rates are fixed in each instance by the Secretary of the Interior, and receipts are deposited in the United States Treasury. Charges for services of attendants are the same in all. Towels, mitts, blankets, and bathrobes, laundering bathrobes and blankets, and services for handling helpless invalids are not included in rates quoted. Bath tickets are redeemable according to the redemption scale for baths fixed by the Department, a copy of which is posted in each bathhouse.

Any dissatisfaction relative to administration of the baths or treatment of patients should be brought to the attention of the park superintendent.

Scale of rates for bathhouses receiving water from Hot Springs National Park
[Including fee of bath attendant, $0.20 for single bath and $4 for a course of 21 baths]

Pool rates
[All pool treatment requires a physician's prescription]

Rates for massage
[The maximum charges for general massage, including all necessary accessories, at all bathhouses]

GOVERNMENT FREE BATHS

The Government free bathhouse for the indigent was established pursuant to act of Congress of December 16, 1878. Legislation requires that an applicant for free baths shall make oath that he is without and unable to obtain means to pay for baths, and a false oath as to his financial condition makes him guilty of a misdemeanor and subjects him, upon conviction thereof, to a fine of not less than $25 or more than $300, or 60 days' imprisonment.

Tickets are issued only to those who, after examination, are found to be suffering from diseases that may reasonably be expected to be benefited by the baths. Children are not allowed in the bathhouse unless they themselves are patients.

The Government free bathhouse is a modern concrete building fully equipped for bathing large numbers of people under sanitary conditions. In connection with the bathhouse the United States Public Health Service, with the cooperation of the National Park Service, is operating a clinic for the examination and treatment of indigents taking the free baths.

All applicants for free baths and treatment for disease must be prepared to provide and pay for their own board and lodging and have return railroad fare. There are no hospitals in the city of Hot Springs to which patients can be admitted, nor any funds available from which relief can be afforded or railroad transportation furnished.

This statement appears to be necessary, as many destitute invalids come each year from other and distant States in the belief that the Government maintains a public institution at which they will be cared for free of charge.

THE ARMY AND NAVY GENERAL HOSPITAL

The Army and Navy General Hospital is also supplied with water from the springs. It is administered by the War Department for the benefit of officers and enlisted men of the military and naval service of the United States, cadets at the United States Military and Naval Academies, officers of the Revenue Cutter Service, now forming part of the Coast Guard, officers of the Public Health Service, and honorably discharged soldiers and sailors of the Regular and Volunteer Army and Navy of the United States, who are suffering from such diseases as the waters of the hot springs of Arkansas have an established reputation in benefiting.

In the case of veterans whose service was rendered since 1897, application for admission to this institution should be made to the Veterans' Administration, Washington, D. C., or to a district office of the Administration. The nearest district office to the hospital is at Little Rock, Ark. In all other cases applications should be submitted to the Surgeon General, United States Army, Washington, D. C. No local applications can be considered.

RULES AND REGULATIONS
[Briefed]

PRESERVATION OF NATURAL FEATURES.—Destruction, injury, defacement, or disturbance in any way of public buildings, signs, trees, flowers, shrubbery, rocks, animal or bird life is prohibited.

FIRES.—Fires are one of the greatest perils to the park's existence. They are not permitted to be kindled anywhere but in designated sites. Extreme care should be taken that all cigarettes or cigars have been completely extinguished before they are thrown away at the side of roads or trails.

HUNTING.—No hunting whatever is permitted within the park boundaries.

PRIVATE OPERATIONS.—To solicit or sell anything, no matter how minor, except by persons holding contract with the United States, is prohibited. The excepted activities are those restricted to the bathhouses and the Hot Springs Mountain Observatory.

ADVERTISING.—No advertising or distribution of placards or advertising matter is permitted in the park.

AUTOMOBILES AND MOTORCYCLES.—All roads are of mountain type, and care should be taken at all times while driving through the park area. There is no need of high speeds, as park roads are altogether recreational in character. Muffler cut-outs must always be closed. Speed of motor vehicles in campground must not exceed 15 miles an hour.

HORSES AND HORSE-DRAWN VEHICLES.—Horses have the right-of-way at all times and must be given the inside of roads when they desire it. Drivers of automobiles and motorcycles should be careful not to frighten horses.

CAMPING.—Visitors using the free public campgrounds on Gorge Creek must first register in the office of the caretaker and obtain permit for campsite. Automobiles and trailers must be placed in assigned areas and not moved to other sites without permission of caretaker. Camping by each party is limited to 30-day period. No structure of poles, lumber, or sheet metal may be erected. Campgrounds must be kept clean and sanitary, and are closed between the hours of 10 p. m. and 5 a. m. The swimming pool is available between sunrise and sunset.

Park rangers are always in uniform and are glad to answer inquiries at all times.