80 HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS. 



The act of Congress of March 3, 1877, provided for the appointment 

 by the President of three commissioners, whose duties are defined by 

 said act as follows: 



Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of said commissioners, after examination of the 

 topography of the reservation, to lay out into convenient squares, blocks, lots, 

 avenues, streets, and alleys, the lines of which shall correspond with the existing 

 boundary lines of occupants of said reservation as near as may be consistent with the 

 interests of the United States, the following described lands, to wit: The south half 

 of section twenty-eight, the south half of section twenty-nine, all of sections thirty- 

 two and thirty-three, in township two south and range nineteen west; and the north 

 half of section, four, the north half of section five, in township three south and range 

 nineteen west, situate in the county of Garland and State of Arkansas, and known 

 as the Hot Springs Reservation. 



Sec. 4. That before making any subdivision of said lands, as described in the 

 preceding section, it shall be the duty of said board of commissioners, under the 

 direction and subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, to designate a 

 tract of land included in one boundary, sufficient in extent to include, and which 

 shall include, all the hot or warm springs situate on the lands aforesaid, to embrace, 

 as near as may be, what is known as Hot Springs Mountain, and the same is hereby 

 reserved from sale, and shall remain under the charge of a superintendent, to be 

 appointed by the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, however, That nothing in this 

 section shall prevent the Secretary of the Interior from fixing a special tax on water 

 taken from said springs, sufficient to pay for the protection and necessary improve- 

 ment of the same. 



In the year mentioned a Commission was appointed and recommended 

 a permanent plan of improvement. Under that plan the land not 

 needed for permanent reservation was platted in streets and alleys, 

 and lots were assigned to various individuals. The original reserva- 

 tion consisted of 2,529 acres, of which 700 acres were awarded to indi- 

 viduals for business and residence purposes, 358 acres were used for 

 streets and alleys, and 570 acres were platted in town lots reserved for 

 future disposal. 



In 1876 the town of Hot Springs was incorporated, and in 1881 the 

 General Government donated to the city the ground platted for streets 

 and alleys. The Congressional enactment of June 16, 1880, provided 

 as follows: 



Sec. 3. That those divisions of the Hot Springs Reservation, known as the moun- 

 tainous districts, not divided by streets on the maps made by the commissioners, but 

 known and defined on the map and in the report of the commissioners as North 

 Mountain, West Mountain, and Sugar Loaf Mountain, be, and the same are hereby, 

 forever reserved from sale, and dedicated to public use as parks, to be known, with 

 Hot Springs Mountain, as the permanent reservation. 



Under these two acts the mountains adjacent to the springs are per- 

 manently reserved for parks, the hot waters are piped to various bath 

 houses, and the supply is under the control of a superintendent of the 

 Hot Springs Reservation, appointed by the Secretary of the Inte- 

 rior. The regulations now prescribed by that Department provide 

 for a rental of land used b} 7 various individuals and for the payment 

 of $30 per year for each tub used by bathing establishments. The 

 income is used for the payment of administrative expenses, for the 

 maintenance of a free bath house, for the building of roads and path- 

 ways on the mountains back of the springs and the adjacent mountains, 

 and for gardening. The receipts amount to about $18,000 per year. 

 The superintendent is charged, under the supervision of the Secretary 

 of the Interior, with the care of the entire reservation as well as its pro- 

 tection and improvement. It is therefore policed and improved by the 

 Department. The results achieved by this wise system speak for them- 



