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In 1875, a simple homestead became a source of healing, if only according to its owner. John McFadden held a tract of land twelve miles away from Hot Springs, where the claims of the springs’ healing properties were already widely known. Hot Springs had been a booming tourist destination since 1832. Its popularity was fueled by the wellness movement known as hydropathy, or the water cure, and the movement appealed to many people searching for natural cures to many different ailments. Hydropathy emphasized the use of water in many forms: soaking in natural springs, drinking pure water and using cold water compresses among them.
While Hot Springs cashed in on its famous natural features, bringing unprecedented wealth to the area, those outside of the city weren’t in on the success. The federal Homestead Act of 1862 allowed people in Arkansas to claim previously unsettled acreage. The homesteader simply had to file a claim and improve it by building a home and cultivating the land. After five years and paying the $14 fee, the land was given to the homesteader. While that fee seems minimal, in 1870, it was the equivalent of paying $350 today.
Homesteading in rural Arkansas, particularly in the remote Ouachita Mountains, was challenging. Only about half of Arkansas homesteaders completed their five-year commitment and took full ownership of the land. It was under the challenge of homesteading, paired with the success of the hydropathy movement, that John McFadden must have had an epiphany. He had three natural cold water springs on his homestead, and the burgeoning wellness tourism industry in nearby Hot Springs. In 1875, he made his claim: the water from Three Sisters Springs had the power to heal. McFadden named the springs in honor of his three daughters.
Although McFadden declared the water’s healing properties, he wasn’t able to capitalize well on his claim. While Hot Springs continued to cater its waters to those seeking health and wellness, John Mooney took over the property in 1883 after McFadden couldn’t meet the homesteading commitment. Mooney sold the land, along with the springs, to Robert Hill in 1904. Although the springs didn’t garner as much attention, McFadden’s original claim about their healing properties didn’t disappear, either. Hill sold the property only three years later to W.M. Cecil and partners, who quickly began to develop McFadden’s Three Sisters Springs Resort. McFadden’s name associated the new owners with the homesteader’s original healing claim.
Though development wasn’t fast, the resort eventually included cottages, recreational activities, and a bottling plant. Cecil marketed the bottled water under the name “Worlds Wonder Waters” and distributed it nationwide. In 1927, a bottle of this water cost ten cents, or about the same price as a loaf of bread, and less than a gallon of milk. For that price, “Worlds Wonder Water” could possibly help with a number of ailments, including dropsy (edema), kidney and bladder issues, indigestion, constipation and diarrhea, as well as eczema and other skin conditions. When bathing in the springs, the resort recommended different springs for different ailments. Three Sisters Springs, like many of the natural springs in the area, contain naturally occurring calcium, magnesium, bicarbonates and sulfates.
While the resort continued to operate and sell bottled water, it never reached the fame and success of nearby Hot Springs. Cecil eventually bought out the other owners in the 1930s, before selling the resort at the end of the decade. The last private owners were Roy and Ruth Whipple. The Army Corps of Engineers acquired the old McFadden property and Three Sisters Springs in 1951 as part of the creation of Lake Ouachita. The three springs and resort area were well-known and the Corps offered a lease arrangement to Arkansas State Parks to keep the springs intact and accessible to the public.
Three Sisters Springs is part of Lake Ouachita State Park, a 360-acre recreation area with campsites, fishing, day-use areas and access to Lake Ouachita. The springs are sheltered under a stone springhouse near the park’s visitor center, and flow from three spigots before being redirected into Lake Ouachita. Visitors can still fill a bottle with the “Worlds Wonder Water” for free, but the water is officially classified as non-potable. Three Sisters Springs is now a historic site that reminds us of a not-too-distant past where many came with the hope of finding a natural source of healing in the natural state.
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