February 14, 2011

Most people associate the bathhouses of Hot Springs (Garland County) with the luxurious Bath House Row. However, early “bath houses” were far from this image. Most early baths used a tank to collect water for troughs or, like the Corn Hole bath shown here, they consisted of a crude wooden frame with a canvas top built around the spring. Many of the springs were known by what ailment they were supposed to relieve. The Corn Hole was believed to relieve suffering from corns, bunions, and other foot-related problems. One of seven baths present in 1856, it dried up in 1882.