HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — Hot Springs is a history-lover’s dream. Over the years, visitors to this city of 35,000 in central Arkansas have ranged from baseball stars to notorious gangsters, all drawn by one thing: the naturally occurring warm mineral water that gives the area its name.
Here are five free things to see and do.
FORDYCE BATHHOUSE: The Fordyce operated as a bathhouse from 1915 to 1962, then later reopened as the Hot Springs National Park visitors center. It’s the largest bathhouse building on Bathhouse Row and offers exhibits about the springs’ history, going back to Native Americans who were the first to use the water for healing. Other exhibits explore, what relaxation meant to visitors in the early to mid-20th century and how segregation laws affected blacks using the baththouses. For details on visiting the Fordyce, go to www.nps.gov/hosp/historyculture/fordyce-bathhouse.htm.
THE SPRINGS: There are 47 springs but only 27 of them are used and on display. The rest are capped to keep the water from becoming contaminated. Two of the most readily accessible springs are located on Central Avenue, just outside of the Fordyce. At an average temperature of about 143 degrees, the water will feel surprisingly warm on your fingertips.
MOUNTAIN VALLEY SPRING COMPANY MUSEUM: Pharmacist Pete E. Greene and his brother John Greene started selling Mountain Valley Spring water in 1871. After changing hands several times over the years, Mountain Valley returned to Hot Springs in 1987. At the visitors center you can see how bottle design changed over the years and sample some of the water, www.mountainvalleyspring.com
