In 1832 Congress reserved four sections of land containing Hot Springs “for the future disposal of the United States.” After the Civil War the Interior Department permitted private entrepreneurs to build and operate bathhouses to which the spring waters were piped, and the Hot Springs Reservation became a popular resort. Hot Springs in the Arkansas Territory comprised 47 springs emerging from a fault at the base of a mountain. Places like Saratoga Springs in New York and White Sulphur Springs in Virginia (now West Virginia) were developed privately, but Congress acted to maintain federal control of two springs west of the Mississippi. As mineral springs were found in America, they too attracted attention. ![]() “Taking the cure” at mineral spring resorts became highly fashionable in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, when thousands visited such famous spas as Bath, Aix-les-Bains, Aachen, Baden-Baden, and Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary). The water at Hot Springs is hot, coming out of the ground at 147 degrees Fahrenheit. The water at Platt National Park, now Chickasaw National Recreation Area, is cold, coming out of the ground at 63 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit. The two parks contributed to the emerging National Park System and illustrate the changing values of what was deemed worthy to be a "National Park." However there are some very key differences between the two parks, the most important being the temperature of the water and the amount of development that was permitted to occur. Each park was initially set aside as a United States Reservation by Congress (Hot Springs in 1832 and Sulphur Springs in 1902). ![]() Both Platt National Park (originally named Sulphur Springs Resevvation and a part of Chickasaw National Recreation Area) and Hot Springs National Park are remnants of the great age of hydrotherapy.
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