Touring Hot Springs and ‘Taking the Waters; in agua so clear.
Hot Springs Natural Reservation was established by an act of congress in 1832, forty years before Yellowstone. Hot Springs would come under the purview of the Park Service in 1916. Between 1832 and the 1870’s the waters at Hot Springs were taken over by private interests. The courts ruled these to be illegal takings and the federal government began to manage the Hot Springs. They built free bath houses and contracted with private companies to build other bath houses with overnight accommodations. These were all wooden structures which burnt down in the early 1900’s. The wooden bath houses were replaced with the beautiful stone bath houses we see in Hot Springs today.Hot Springs became a haven for health enthusiasts. From the 1920’s to the mid 1950’s ‘Taking the Waters’ was all the rage. Hot Springs promoters claimed ‘Taking the Waters’ could be beneficial for ailments from Asthma to Whooping Cough and everything in between. Dueling restaurants, Angels and Devils, across the street from each other in Hot Springs.
Wanderers in Wonder 
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