Arkansas Trip, 2003  #3


Hi all,

Friday, Oct. 17
We headed out this morning for Old Washington Historic State Park.  Our route was a loop of about 200 miles heading toward the southeastern corner of the state, around counter-clockwise back up to Hot Springs, and back to the park.

Washington is an active community of about 150 people living in what in 1958 was established by both the state and local historical groups as a living museum.  The buildings were built in the period of 1824 to about 1889.  Many of the homes are open to tour, with many of the townspeople as guides dressed in period costumes.  The Visitor Center is the 1874 courthouse.  The downstairs has a hall the length of the building with half a dozen rooms along the sides.  These rooms have desks, bookcases, and other period furniture.  One of the desks held a small press to imprint the official seal on documents.

Upstairs, which was reachable using an original pair of staircases, or a modern-day elevator, was the courtroom.  There were about 20 church-pew type benches for the spectators overlooking the conventional courtroom layout.  There were jury boxes at each side of the court, each of which was large enough for the 12 jurors.

We then walked over to the local tavern and restaurant, which we would never have found without the map.  It looked just like another house with no advertising sign on the outside.  We sat on wooden benches at a wooden table, not too unlike a picnic table.  I was afraid what the prices might be, but was really surprised at how reasonable they were.  I had a grilled cheese sandwich with soup and cornbread for $3.25.  The sandwich alone was 1.60.  Tea or soft drinks were $1.  If I had left enough room for dessert, they had fruit cobbler for $1.70 with ice cream for an additional .20.

We then drove around the balance of the buildings which included many residences, a couple of churches, a blacksmith shop and a cotton gin.

Saturday, Oct. 18
We went back into Hot Springs today.  We parked downtown near bathhouse row and headed over. 

There have been natural springs in this area since long before any white men were in the area.  The ancient Indians were know to leave their weapons outside the area and all tribes bathed in peace.  Later it is rumored that the Spanish explorer, Hernando DeSoto and his troops found the area in 1541.  The area became well known to trappers and traders in the 17th and 18th centuries.  The area was bought by the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase.  In 1832 the federal government took the unprecedented step of declaring 4 sections of the area as the first U.S. reservation, made to protect a natural resource.  In 1921 it was made the county's 18th national park.

Bathhouses were allowed to be built by private entrepreneurs.  The early ones were quite crude, being made of wood, and sometimes even canvas.  The constant high humidity caused these to rot very quickly, and there were numerous devastating fires.  The current generation of bathhouses were built of steel and masonry to resist the water and steam.

Currently only one of the 8 still existing bathhouses, the Buckstaff is in commercial business.  Another, the Fordyce, is used by the National Park Service as its Visitor Center.  The remaining six are fenced off, but there is construction taking place.  The park service is restoring the exteriors and making them available for private operation.  The catch is that the operator must rebuild the interior and take a 20 year lease.

You can take a self-guided tour of the Fordyce, or a guided one.  We went with a ranger on a guided tour.  We first went to the women's side.  She was very clear that the men were on one side and the women on the other.  The two never met anywhere during the bathing process.

This bathhouse is the finest of them.  The builder felt he had been miraculously saved a number of years before at age 36 from a terminal condition by the waters of Hot Springs.  Now in 1915, as a successful businessman he decided to build the finest facility money could buy.  He tore down the existing facility and totally rebuilt it.  He used the finest marble, stained glass, and small hex tiles on the floor.  (These were laid one at a time back then.)

When we went in, we had no idea what the bathing process was at the hot springs.  The only contact I have had with springs was with the water in a swimming pool.  This is very different;  The customer checks in at the front desk, decides what processes he wants and pays.  He (generic "he" for male or female) may be there with a doctor's prescription, or he may be here on his own.

He is given a small lock box to put his valuables in, it is locked in the safe-deposit type wall and he is given the key, which he carefully keeps during the rest of his stay during the day.  (There is no overnight occupancy.)  He is then dressed in only a toga by his personal attendant for the rest of the bathing regimen.  He starts in a large (140 gallon) tub which is filled with somewhat cooled spring water.  The water from the springs is 143 degrees F.  After a period in the bath, sitz bath, steam cabinet, and needle shower, he is sent to the "Pack Room" where any sore or aching spots he has are wrapped in large towels soaked in the spring water.  A needle shower follows.  This is a shower with many shower heads covering his body with sharp, fine jets of water that "sting" when they hit.

Next the bather goes to the cooling room where his body temperature is allowed to normalize.  If a massage was chosen, he goes there now. 

We next moved to the hydro-therapy area.  Here were specialized prescription processes involving electrical stimulation baths, specialized sitz baths, mercury treatments, and a process using 3 small fire-type hoses and nozzles at various temperatures.  These were directed against the lower back and upper legs of people with back problems, alternating between hot and cold.  None of the features we saw here are still offered in bath houses.

From here we went to the men's side.  We entered a large room with bathing booths all around the edges.  Inside were marble benches under a very elaborate stained glass window.  This was much more elaborate than the women's side.  This was because most of the customers were men.  Women of that era did not have much money; very few worked.

In other areas we saw the dressing rooms followed by the staterooms, which were used mostly by businessmen to rest after the bath before travel or other engagements.  Remember, there was no overnight occupancy at all.  We went up to the third floor where there was an assembly room where the men and women could mix following their baths.  This was a beautiful area with a grand piano at one end and a billiard table at the other.  There was a men's lounge at one end and a women's at the other.  Over all this were marvelous stained glass ceilings.  The floor was a pattern made of small square tiles.

The final stop on the tour was the gymnasium.  This was a state-of-the-art facility for 1915!  There were rings hanging from the ceiling, weights of several types on the walls, ropes to climb, weight pulls, punching bags, and other exercise machines around the walls. 

It was a most interesting and enjoyable tour.  Our tour guide was wonderful!

I have posted some photos at:

http://myweb.cableone.net/rsmason/arkansas03.htm

Till next time,

Dick
 

 

Fred, on his riding lawnmower (with its new belt)
-----
This is the 1874 Courthouse which is the current Visitor Center in Old Washington Historic State Park.
-----
The court room with its huge chandalier.
-----
This is the United Methodist Church.
-----
Hot Springs bathhouses.  The one in the background (blue awnings) is the only one still in business.
-----
The Fordyce bathhouse.  It is also the NPS Visitor Center.
-----
One of the bath tubs in an all marble enclosure.
-----
A sitz bath and a vapor (steam) cabinet.
-----
Our tour guide describes some of the hydro-therapy devices.
-----
The ceiling stained glass ceiling in the men's side.
-----
The Assembly Room is gorgeous with its stained glass ceiling, elaborate tile floor of 1 inch square tiles, and elegant decor.
-----
The gymnasium is very complete.
-----
One of the natural springs.  The water is oozing out from the cracks between the rocks.
-----