Editing Hot Springs, Arkansas (section)

===Rebuilding===
After the Civil War, extensive rebuilding of bathhouses and hotels took place at Hot Springs. The year-round population soared to 1,200 inhabitants by 1870. By 1873 six bathhouses and 24 hotels and boardinghouses stood near the springs. 
In 1873, Hot Springs became the county seat of the newly formed Garland County. Prior to 1873, the city had been a part of Hot Spring County.
In 1874, Joseph Reynolds announced his decision to construct a [[narrow-gauge]] railroad from [[Malvern, Arkansas|Malvern]] to Hot Springs; completion in 1875 resulted in the growth of visitation to the springs. Samuel W. Fordyce and two other entrepreneurs financed the construction of the first luxury hotel in the area, the first [[Arlington Hotel (Hot Springs National Park)|Arlington Hotel]], which opened in 1875.<ref name=Paige1987 />

During the [[Reconstruction Era]], several conflicting land claims reached the U.S. Congress and resulted on April 24, 1876, [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] ruling that the land title of Hot Springs belonged to the federal government. Protests ensued. To deal with the situation, Congress formed the Hot Springs Commission to lay out streets in the town of Hot Springs, deal with land claims, define property lines, condemn buildings illegally on the permanent reservation (now the national park), and define a process for claimants to purchase land. The commission surveyed and set aside {{convert|264.93|acre|km2}} encompassing the hot springs and Hot Springs Mountain to be a permanent government reservation. Another {{convert|1200|acre|km2}} became the Hot Springs townsite, with {{convert|700|acre|km2}} awarded to claimants. The townsite consisted of 196 blocks and {{convert|50|mi|km}} of streets and alleys. The remaining portion of the original four sections of government land consisted of hills and mountains which were mostly unoccupied, and Congress acted on the commission's recommendation in June 1880 by adding those lands to the permanent reservation.<ref name=Paige1987 />