Fort Smith, Arkansas was a main
destination for my summer road trip. Yes, the Fort Smith, and
neighboring Fort Chaffee, that I maintain are at the center of the
American empire.
Along the way, I meandered through Hot Springs, Arkansas. President Andrew Jackson created a natural reservation at Hot Springs in 1832 to preserve the healing qualities of water for the American people. He was simultaneously pursuing the forced removal of indigenous nations east of the Mississippi River and their relocation to new territories in the Indian Territories. (The formal reservation system would come later.)
Along the way, I meandered through Hot Springs, Arkansas. President Andrew Jackson created a natural reservation at Hot Springs in 1832 to preserve the healing qualities of water for the American people. He was simultaneously pursuing the forced removal of indigenous nations east of the Mississippi River and their relocation to new territories in the Indian Territories. (The formal reservation system would come later.)
What drew me to Hot Springs was not its mob town or boyhood-home-of-President-Clinton history. Instead, it was a little 'Did You Know?' note on Hot Springs' NPS website noting that the US
Public Health Services had run a bathhouse and clinic in Hot Springs. I am always intrigued by instances when the US when government-run health services seem appropriate.
