Author: Robert K. Raines Publisher: Arcadia Publishing ISBN: 1439642117 Category : True Crime Languages : en Pages : 128
Book Description
In the late 1800s, Hot Springs, Arkansas, was a small town with a big attraction: hot thermal water. The federal government took possession of the downtown-area springs, and bathhouse row was born, along with the first property that would be considered a national park. Following not too far behind were great entrepreneurs who brought in gambling and prostitution to go with the area’s leading industry: moonshining. By the time the 20th century rolled in, Hot Springs was booming with tourists and became America’s first resort. In the early 1930s, former New York gangster Owen Madden took up residence in the spa city, and things became very organized. Gangland luminaries from Al Capone to Frank Costello made regular pilgrimages over the next few decades to what was referred to as “the loose buckle in the Bible Belt.”
Author: Robert K. Raines Publisher: Arcadia Publishing ISBN: 1467110760 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 128
Book Description
From a hot springs attraction to a central location for gangsters, gambling, moonshine and organized crime, trace the evolution of this loose buckle in the Bible belt, now a resort and major tourist destination. In the late 1800s, Hot Springs, Arkansas, was a small town with a big attraction: hot thermal water. The federal government took possession of the downtown-area springs, and bathhouse row was born, along with the first property that would be considered a national park. Following not too far behind were great entrepreneurs who brought in gambling and prostitution to go with the area's leading industry: moonshining. By the time the 20th century rolled in, Hot Springs was booming with tourists and became America's first resort. In the early 1930s, former New York gangster Owen Madden took up residence in the spa city, and things became very organized. Gangland luminaries from Al Capone to Frank Costello made regular pilgrimages over the next few decades to what was referred to as the loose buckle in the Bible Belt.
Author: Ray Hanley Publisher: University of Arkansas Press ISBN: 1557289549 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 184
Book Description
"The reader of Ray Hanley's new book on Hot Springs will find it both entertaining and informative. Mr. Hanley is to be commended on the accuracy of his research and his writing."---Orval Allbritton, Garland County Historical Society A Place Apart tells the history of Hot Springs, Arkansas, through words and pictures. Throughout that history, the thermal waters bubbling from the Ouachita Mountains ringing the city are a backdrop to the stories of pioneers, wealthy barons, scoundrels, gamblers, colorful politicians, and, of course, the hundreds of thousands of people who come to the spa city for the pleasures and health benefits of the baths. For all those interested in the history of Hot Springs, A Place Apart is a delightful, and essential, resource.
Author: Graham Nown Publisher: University of Arkansas Press ISBN: 1935106570 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 360
Book Description
Owney Madden lived a seemingly quiet life for decades in the resort town of Hot Springs, Arkansas, while he was actually helping some of America's most notorious gangsters rule a vast criminal empire. In 1987, Graham Nown first told Madden's story in his book The English Godfather, in which he traced Madden's boyhood in England, his immigration to New York City, and his rise to mob boss. Nown also uncovered a love story involving Madden and the daughter of the Hot Springs postmaster. Before his arrival in Hot Springs, Madden was one of the most powerful gangsters in New York City and former owner of the famous Cotton Club in Harlem. The story of his life shows us a world where people can break the law without ever getting caught, and where criminality is so entwined in government and society that one might wonder what is legality and what isn't.
Author: Mary Bell Hill Publisher: Arcadia Publishing ISBN: 1467112852 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 128
Book Description
One of America's first national parks, Hot Springs has welcomed the famous and the infamous, all seeking the healing elements of her waters. Hot Springs was one of the first areas set aside as a federal land reservation in 1832--predating the first national park at Yellowstone by 40 years. In 1921, it was officially designated a national park. Physically the smallest of the 59 US national parks today, Hot Springs measures just larger than 5,500 acres. Its 47 on-site springs produce more than 700,000 gallons of thermal water per day. From early natives who quarried novaculite found in the surrounding hills to famous politicians, performers, and athletes, people have been coming to these springs for thousands of years to partake in the supposed healing powers of the water. President Franklin Roosevelt, boxer Jack Dempsey, and French opera diva Lily Pons are a few of the visitors who made the trek to the Valley of the Vapors. The history of Hot Springs National Park revolves around people's' interactions with its thermal water.
Author: Philip Leigh Publisher: ISBN: 9781947660052 Category : Languages : en Pages : 234
Book Description
In The Devil's Town, Philip Leigh, a rising star among American historians, tells the unique and colorful story of the small resort city of Hot Springs, Arkansas---how it became a theater for New York and Chicago mobs during the gangster era. This is a richly detailed tale of a significant part of Southern history--- exploitation of a people's poverty, crime, evasion of law, and local and state corruption. The author names names, some of them of national importance including, among others, Frank Costello, Al Capone, Myer Lansky, "Jelly" Nash, Nick the Greek, Thomas Dewey, J. Edgar Hoover, and presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, and Clinton. *** Even as an author of four Hot Springs books, The Devil's Town entertainingly amplified insight into my hometown -Ray Hanley, author of A Place Apart: A Personal History of Hot Springs *** Comments on Southern Reconstruction "Leigh's Southern Reconstruction is a refreshing anecdote to politically acceptable versions of the story." * "Leigh's latest work Southern Reconstruction is an excellent study of a critical and too often misunderstood part of American history. It is a no nonsense tour de force...." * "I applaud Philip Leigh, and think his book will be historographically significant . . ."
Author: Donna Akers Warmuth Publisher: Arcadia Publishing ISBN: 9780738516479 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 132
Book Description
The beautiful and mountainous area of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, has a rich history dating back to the days when the Native Americans passed through on the Nickajack Trail, which led into Tennessee. The town derives its unique name from a rock outcropping near the town, where the winds defy gravity and have the ability to blow light objects thrown from the rock back to the rock. During the 1790s, several families settled the area, and by the mid-1850s, inhabitants of Blowing Rock along with summer visitors from Lenoir enjoyed the beauty and comfort of the mountainous area. The construction of the Lenoir-Blowing Rock Turnpike after 1845 provided easier access to "America's Switzerland," and visitors or "cottagers," as they were called, soon began building second homes in the area. The images contained within Blowing Rock provide readers with a glimpse into the small-town charm, friendly faces, and inspiring scenery that ensure the town's future as a destination for those who yearn for the comfort of mountain life.
Author: David M. Burke Publisher: Arcadia Publishing ISBN: 9780738541990 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 134
Book Description
"The Spirit of Warm Springs" is what Franklin D. Roosevelt described as the peaceful atmosphere and healing qualities he found along the slopes of Georgia's Pine Mountain. But long before FDR, the warm springs attracted people. Legend has it the Creek Indians used them for healing. European settlers used them as a revenue source. In the 1800s, the springs became a resort area, and the village of Warm Springs, Georgia, was founded. Rail brought visitors to this farming community for decades until travelers sought different destinations. By the 1920s, Warm Springs began slipping into the Great Depression. Destiny intervened when Franklin Roosevelt arrived in Warm Springs seeking a cure for his polio. After his first visit, he was able to move his leg. The news drew others afflicted with polio. Warm Springs provided FDR with hope. He returned the gift through New Deal programs and the March of Dimes while restoring hope in America. The waters are still used for healing, the town of Warm Springs thrives, and FDR's Little White House is a memorial to "the foremost statesman and political leader" of the 20th century.
Author: Jane H. Walker and Robert E. Herndon Publisher: Arcadia Publishing ISBN: 146711376X Category : History Languages : en Pages : 128
Book Description
Creek Indians inhabited land that was to become Telfair County. The early population was made up of settlers of Scottish descent. They had to produce almost everything they used, from food to equipment. Named for Edward Telfair, a two-term governor of Georgia, the county was formed in 1807 from a portion of Wilkinson County. Gradually, several counties were formed from parts of Telfair. Since 1870, Telfair County has kept its current boundaries. The original county seat was located in Jacksonville, about 20 miles south of McRae, Georgia, where it was moved by the legislature in 1871. While Georgia was a hotbed of secession, Telfair County representatives to the Secession Convention in 1861 voted "no" to the resolution, reflecting the sentiment of the county's population. Even though there was strong objection to secession, many Telfair County citizens did their duty and volunteered to serve the Southern cause.
Author: Kimberly S. Blass Publisher: Arcadia Publishing ISBN: 9780738515496 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 134
Book Description
Atlanta, the thriving capital of the New South, has a rich and fascinating history. In Atlanta Scenes, authors Kimberly S. Blass and Michael Rose draw from the works of some of the city's earliest and finest photojournalists--Francis Price, Marion Johnson, Bill Wilson, and Kenneth Rogers--to bring that history to life. Atlanta Scenes documents some of the city's noteworthy events, personalities, and landmarks, many of which will be readily identifiable. The images range from the everyday (baseball games at Ponce de Leon Ballpark, boys on bicycles, and Humane Society dog rescues) to the eventful (the Gone with the Wind premiere, the deadly Winecoff Hotel fire, and the infamous Leo Frank trial). Many scenes reflect the iconography of the Old South, while others provide insight into the harsh realities of twentieth-century life. In this volume, well-crafted, artistic images blend with on-the-spot action shots.
Author: Robert K. Raines
Author: Robert K. Raines
Author: Ray Hanley
Author: Graham Nown
Author: Mary Bell Hill
Author: Philip Leigh
Author: Donna Akers Warmuth
Author: David M. Burke
Author: Jane H. Walker and Robert E. Herndon
Author: Kimberly S. Blass