Group of fifteen (15) albumen stereoviews documenting Hot Springs, Arkansas, and vicinity, circa 1870s - 1890s. Thirteen stereoviews are part of the series, "Stereoscopic Views of Hot Springs and Surroundings, Photographed by J.F. Kennedy," while another two lack a photographer's imprint but are believed to be his work. Notably, at least one image in the collection is identified to Miss Margaret "Maggie" Strock, Kennedy's assistant and the first female photographer in Hot Springs.

Hot Springs, Garland County, Arkansas, became increasingly famous in the late nineteenth century for its natural geothermal waters. Kennedy's stereoviews capture local culture and landmarks, and document a period in which the area changed from a frontier town to a "spa city" centered on a row of Victorian-style bathhouses and the hot springs to which tourists flocked from around the country.

Each view on cardstock mount. Views include:

1. No. 3 Upper Valley looking North from the Arlington? Exterior view capturing local businesses including "Arlington Livery Feed & Sale Stable." 

2. No. 29 Waverly Hotel. Exterior view of an impressive three-story hotel structure with trolley in front.

3. No. 72 Palace Bath House. Exterior view bath house.

4. No. 91 Clarendon House. Mount recto with manuscript notation "Clarendon House." Exterior view of the popular 19th-century hotel.

5. No.118 Gellin's Springs. Manuscript notations on mount recto read, in part: "Old Milk House, at Gillen's Springs, near Hot Springs, Ark," "Traveler Gillin's brother - Squatter, Mr. Gillin Squatter's wife Mrs. Strock (the designer of the scene) and "Modern 'Arkansas Traveler' (Scene taken in 1887) Photographed by Miss Maggie Strock." Verso with manuscript notation "Old milk house at 'Gillen Springs.'" Exterior view appearing to show an elaborately stage scene that according to the manuscript notation may have been designed by the photographer's mother, Mrs. Strock.

6. No. 83 Silver City Mines. Exterior view showing men in suits behind which are miners walking towards the mine entrance. 

7. Exterior view showing a row of buildings nestled alongside a main street. "Daily & Weekly Telegraph" sign clearly visible. No photographer's imprint on mount recto or verso. Later manuscript notations on verso read "Hot Springs, Ark" and "#9 Looking South from the Arlington balcony / Photo J.F. Kennedy."

8. 14-20. Street Views. Exterior view looking down the street at elaborate Victorian buildings with utility poles along street.

9. No. 3 Upper Valley looking North from the Arlington? A different view than the earlier listing of same name, this one from POV in middle of street looking towards buildings with hillside in background.

10. No. 69 Malvern Crossing. Exterior view showing the historic junction with railroad tracks at the center of the image curving in towards buildings.

11. No. 36 Barns House. Exterior view of a residence with a large group of men, women, and children posed on the porch.

12. Not identified in view list. Exterior view of a man being pushed in a wooden wheelchair. Verso with manuscript notation "Old Man Porter." 

13. No. 44 Street in Ral City. Exterior view showing men seated around a campsite with laundry hanging to dry and makeshift tent lodgings. Identified in other sources as "Wash day in Rahl City." Ral City, short for "neuralgia," was a campsite where Civil War veterans and private citizens created "dug out" pools on the Hot Springs because they could not afford the town of Hot Springs or its bath services.

14. No. 22 Garland County Jail. Exterior view of a small wooden structure serving as the county jail, one of the more well-known images from the "Stereoscopic Views of Hot Springs and Surroundings" series.

15. Exterior view showing a group of women and children posed with a well-dressed man and a wagon on the city street. No photographer's imprint on mount recto or verso. Later manuscript notations on verso identify the image as No. 60 "Texas Emigrant Wagon."

Photographer J. F. Kennedy was active in Hot Springs from about 1872 until his death in 1902. Kennedy produced stereographs featuring Hot Springs' major landmarks, and had a studio in the center of downtown when Central Ave. was still known as Valley Street. His cards were very popular with the tourists who flocked to the region to partake in the healing hot spring waters. 

Margaret Strock moved to Hot Springs with her family in the early 1870s, and became the first female photographer in the city. She started her photography career as an assistant for Kennedy and later worked on her own. The Garland County (Arkansas) Historical Society indicates that some Kennedy photos are actually Strock photos.

A wonderful and scarce assortment of stereoviews from one of the premier recreational destinations in the region. 

[Early Photography, Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards]