Celebrating the "Natural State" - Hot Springs AR and the Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock AR [April 25-26, 2017]

Hot water comes out of the side of the mountain in Hot Springs AR

We weren't sure what to expect in Arkansas.  What we got was a VERY pleasant surprise.

We decided to drive "the back way" from Fort Smith to Hot Springs on secondary roads.  It was the most direct route on the map, but the winding roads around and through scenic mountains were not the fastest route.  The roller coaster was a little difficult in a 30 foot long motor home but definitely worth the trip.  It was certainly pretty.

Historic Bathhouses along Central Avenue

Hot Springs is named for the hot water that comes out of cracks in the side of the mountain.  Initially, the hot water collected into a creek that ran down the center of a ravine.  People started setting up bathhouses using the naturally hot water.  In 1832, the US set up four preserves of this mineral rich 140 degree water, the first time it protected any natural resource.  In 1884, the federal government built a covered channel for the creek, paving over the top in what is Central Avenue today.  In 1921, Hot Springs was made the 18th National Park (Happy 101 Birthday NPS!).

Fordyce Bathhouse

In 1877, elaborate bathhouses were built siphoning this medicinal water into tubs to soak in and cups to drink.  A handful of these bath houses remain today.  One, the Fordyce Bathhouse, has been preserved by the National Park Service.  You can see bathing rooms with ornate stained glass skylights and statuary.  There is a gymnasium, and rooms for recovering and resting after your hot water treatment.

Ladies bathing area in the Fordyce Bathhouse

Skylight in the men's bathing area in the Fordyce Bathhouce

The bathhouses were located all along one side of Central Ave, and affiliated with hotels that were located on the other side.  On the side of the hill behind the bathhouses is a brick paved promenade where visitors could stroll and visit with each other.  It is a lovely setting.

The Promenade

Along various corners of Central Ave are fountains where anyone can fill containers with the hot water.  We parked next to a very busy corner where we saw a stream of local residents fill their many empty gallon containers.  We ran some into a coffee cup.  Boy, was it hot!  It was delicious!

Hot water from a fountain

Hot Springs is also known for its delicious, cool spring water.  There are cool water fountains around town as well.  It was so yummy that we drained what water we had left in the 65 gallon water tank in the motor home and filled it with wonderful fresh spring water from the campground water supply.

Hot shower anyone?

By the way, they brew beer with this lovely water.  Hot Springs is the only National Park with a brewery.  The beer was good, too. 

Steam therapy

The other beautiful part of Hot Springs are the lovely mountains and trails.  We camped in the NPS campground located in scenic Gulpha Gorge.  It was so beautiful, with rugged steep, forested sides and a stream babbling through it.

Tub for handicapped patients

After 19 hours in Hot Springs we headed off to Little Rock to visit the Bill Clinton Presidential Library and Museum.  We didn't see much of Little Rock - that will be another visit.  The Clinton Library is a beautiful museum.  Down the center is a long timeline of what was happening in the world and during the Clinton Presidency.  In bays along the outside are exhibits highlighting thematic aspects of his term.  It was our first visit to a modern presidential library and very impressive.

At the Clinton Library

Arkansas is a gem, worth more visits.  Its' considerable natural beauty have earned it the deserving nickname of The Natural State.

Fort Smith, Arkansas and Hangin' Judge Parker [April 25, 2017]

What remains of Fort Smith, which became the Federal Court building

You have likely seen a movie where Deputy U.S. Marshalls rode into the Indian Territory to apprehend outlaws and bring them back to Fort Smith to stand before Hangin' Judge Parker and face justice.   Well, this is where that happened, Fort Smith, Arkansas.

A model of the original Fort Smith on the Arkansas River

The history of the founding of Fort Smith is pretty sad.  A wooden army fort was originally built here in 1817 on the banks of the Arkansas River to preserve peace between the newly relocated Cherokee and the already resident Osage Indians.  Over time, as the frontier pushed West, so did the army and Fort Smith fell into disrepair.

The site of the first Fort Smith

In1838 another fort was built here, serving as a supply depot for forts that were being built further west.  Westward booms like the California gold rush made Fort Smith an important center of supplies and immigration.  It was also a depot and way point in the tragic Trail of Tears.  After the Civil War, the army closed the fort, but the town continued to grow.

Judge Parker's court room

The Federal Court of the Western District of Arkansas had jurisdiction over the area known as the Indian Territory, and set up jails, offices and a courtroom in the abandoned enlisted men's barracks in 1872.  Deputy Marshalls maintained law and order in the Indian Territory.  We came to learn that at this point "Indian Territory" referred to the area we now know as Oklahoma.  The territory was divided up into districts for different Indian tribes.

The Gallows - you needed a ticket to get inside the enclosure to see a hanging

Initially, the judges in Fort Smith were corrupt.  Judge Isaac Parker was sent there in 1875 to establish consistent and fair judgements.  He presided over the Federal Court for 21 years, hearing over 13,000 cases and sentencing 160 men to hang (only 79 actually did).  The court was disbanded in 1896, and Judge Parker died 10 weeks later.

The "hell-on-the-border" jail cell

Initially, the jail was an airless basement room which housed up to 50 prisoners, who slept on straw stuffed mattresses on the floor.  This "hell-on-the-border" was replaced by a system of cells in the upper part of the building, where for certain times of day prisoners could move between cells inside a larger enclosure, a system designed by Judge Parker.

Reproduction of the "modern" jail designed by Judge Parker

The  Fort Smith National Historic Site (Happy 101 Birthday NPS) is really interesting!  They have done an excellent job presenting the history of the fort, setting it in the context of the history of forced Indian relocation and White westward expansion, and describing the Marshalls and their prisoners.  You can see reproductions of the jails, Judge Parker's courtroom, and the gallows.  A lovely walk takes you to the banks of the Arkansas River, past a stone marker designating the boundary between Arkansas and the Choctaw Nation.

Stone marking the border between Arkansas...

...and the Choctaw Nation

In 1896, the violent era of Fort Smith's history came to an end.  Just three years later, in 1899, Dana's grandmother Mary Theresa Morgan Jones was born in Fort Smith.  To have known her, you would never have guessed that she spent her childhood in a rough border town on the western frontier.  She would not have found it remarkable.  In retrospect, we do.