Steven Hanley: 7 books

From its rise in the 1800s until well into the twentieth century, Hot Springs was a famed resort known worldwide. The grand hotels and world-class bath houses that sprang up around the government-protected springs drew countless visitors, ranging from the famous and wealthy to those of humble means,...

Sebastian and Crawford Counties are among Arkansas�s most historic areas with their location on what was once the edge of the frontier. In this book, the authors capture the transition of both the large and the small communities from the 1800s into the middle of the 20th century through historic...

First established by the French in 1686, Arkansas Post was the first permanent European settlement in the Mississippi River Valley. It played a key role in the long struggle between France, Spain, and England for control of the lucrative fur trade. The only battle of the American Revolution fought west...

Hot Spring County was established in 1829, and its county seat, Malvern, was laid out as a station on the Cairo and Fulton Railroad in 1873. A remarkable diversity of agricultural, timber, and mineral products spurred the county�s growth over the decades, especially the abundant clay deposits that made Malvern the �Brick Capital of the World.�

From the 1890s to the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced during this �golden age� can today be considered works of art. Early in the century, Hot Springs was among the most noted resorts in the nation. Its Victorian wonders...

Arkansas seceded from the Union in 1861, opening a chapter in the state�s history that would change its destiny for decades. An estimated 6,862 Arkansas Confederate soldiers died from battle and disease, while some 1,700 Arkansas men died wearing Union blue. Total casualties, killed and wounded, represented...

During the �Golden Age of Postcards,� a craze that swept the nation in the early 1900s, postcard photographers captured images of everyday life in small towns all over the country. In this tradition, its creators unknowingly produced an invaluable archive of historical data that gives us a glimpse of the way life used to be.