Travel: Hot Springs, Arkansas

Crime Travel By Chris Bunton

We traveled to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where I did some research on Mobster Owney Madden

Hot Springs, Arkansas from its inception was a place of healing. A place sacred to the native peoples of the region.

A place where the hot springs were captured and incorporated into bath houses.

A place where the Federal Government set up a national park in order to protect the springs.

Many businesses set up shop to cater to the folks who came to Hot Springs for healing.

But, other types of businesses and other types of relaxation came as well.

Thanks to Mayor McLaughlin, Hot Springs was open to drinking, prostitution and gambling during the days when other parts of the country were shut down.

Then, came Owney Madden who really classed up the joint and brought other gangsters to town, including Al Capone. Many notorious mobsters of the era enjoyed vacationing here because they were left alone and allowed to walk freely. Mayor McLaughlin and the police did not bother them.

Well, that’s a little history. 

Today, Hot Springs was a pretty cool place to visit as well. It’s a lot like a city that is a resort. Downtown in the historic district are tons of shops. But, on the other side of the street are all the old bath houses. Some still run, while others have been re-purposed to hold Visitor Centers and the offices for the Hot Springs National Park.

It’s interesting because one side of the street is Arkansas, and the other side of the street is federal land.

For us, we got a Vrbo and had a wonderful time.

We enjoyed Garvan Woodland Gardens where we walked along beautiful paths.

We got great views of Lake Hamilton

Then, we went down town and checked out all the shops.

Hot Springs is famous for its bath house row which sits in a National Park. One of the Bath Houses was a museum as well.

We checked out the old hotels, took a hot bath and visited the Gangster Museum of America, where we got great crime history on Hot Springs and saw an original John Dillinger Death Mask. One of only a couple in existence.

We also loved the horse races at Oaklawn Racing Casino and Resort. Horses and horse racing is one of the things we enjoy, we were there for the Arkansas Derby which is held at Oaklawn.

We visited the Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo, where we held a baby alligator.

We really enjoyed Hot Springs. It is a resort town, and tops the list of places we would love to move to. We will go back someday.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

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