GCHS Holdings - A Quick Look

Library and other research media

  • Book and periodical library dedicated to the history and prehistory of the city of Hot Springs, Garland County, surrounding counties, and Arkansas state history (see Library)
  • Vertical file of over 80 linear feet containing clippings, photocopies, and other ephemera covering hundreds of locally pertinent topics (see Vertical File)
  • Microfilm library including Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, newspapers, and vital records
  • Digital files of photographs, maps, and other documents

Demographic and governmental records and data for Garland County (see Vital Records)

  • County Census records through 1930
  • Original death records, 1898-1923
  • Marriage records
  • Birth records, 1926 - 1958
  • Jail register, 1890s
  • Early city police dockets
  • Funeral home and cemetery records, tombstone inscriptions, obituaries
  • City directories, 1887 to present, and telephone directories, 1903 to present

Primary documents

  • Maps: city, township, county, state, Hot Springs National Park, topographical, geological, fire insurance, street and highway, survey, and plat (see Maps)
  • Over 30,000 photographs, stereographs, and other visual media, 1867 to present (see Photographs)
  • Many newspapers pertaining to this area from 1876 to the present
  • Letters and postcards
  • Scrapbooks, diaries, and photographic albums (see Dodson Room)

Document Collections

  • Compendium of material on the Arkansas State Fair at Hot Springs
  • Military records and related data, from the Civil War to the wars in the Middle East, including
    • Myron Townsend World War I scrapbooks
    • 223rd Combat Communications Squadron Collection
  • The Audrey Wenger McCully Collection - the Public Health Service’s role at Hot Springs Reservation/National Park, in particular that of Dr. Oscar Wenger

Archival Collections (records accumulated over time by individuals, families, businesses, or institutions)

  • Personal archives that document the life of an individual or a family, including
    • “The Papers of Marcus Phillips” - his research into old trail locations, maps, and myths and legends about American Indians.
    • Sally Rector-Hain family archive
    • The John Lonsdale Collection
    • Frederick W. Cron Collection
    • Mayor Floyd Houseley Collection
  • Business archives that create a long-term record of organizations
    including hotels, bathhouses, hospitals, schools, churches, civic organizations, such as
    • Chamber of Commerce
    • Arkansas State Fair (at Hot Springs) Collection
    • Garden Club Collection
    • Music Club Collection