Dangerous Visitors: The Lawless Era
by Orval E. Allbritton, Garland County Historical Society, Hot Springs, Ark., 2008.
Hot Springs, Arkansas, doesn’t usually spring to mind as a hotbed of lawlessness, but it’s safe to say not everyone came to the community for the warming waters. Local historian Orval E. Allbritton makes that perfectly clear in this entertaining 365-page book, as he did earlier in his 2006 book Hot Springs Gunsmoke and an article for Wild West. Among the earliest dangerous visitors to Hot Springs were members of the James-Younger Gang, who robbed a stage outside town in January 1874. A mellowed, no longer “wanted” Frank James returned to Hot Springs in the winter of 1911/12 to sell saddles, harnesses and farming equipment at Hamp Williams’ hardware store. But most of the other criminals mentioned here were from the 1920–1940 era. For strict fans of the Wild West era, Hot Springs Gunsmoke, has more to offer, including a heated gambling war.
Originally published in the February 2010 issue of Wild West. To subscribe, click here.
