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And Answers About Hot Springs?

1. During the Civil Rights movement, Hot Springs suffered only one incident. It happened in the Uptown area of our community. It can not be proved, but it is commonly believed, in the African American Community, that the participation of this church caused it to be bombed in 1963. It was rebuilt, but still holds the honor of being the oldest African American church in the SPA City. This church is mentioned in Dr. Francis J. Scully’s book about Hot Springs. What was the name of that church? Roanoke Baptist Church

2. During segregation, the Honorable John L. and Carrie Webb were responsible for donating a building for the colored youth of the day. It was named after their daughter, Emma Elease Webb. The building was the Emma Elease Webb Community Center. What year did this take place? 1945

3. In October 1923 The Woodmen of Union Building known later as The National Baptist Building was open for business. Who was the man responsible for this? John L. Webb

4. What Negro entertainer was reported, in the Sentinel-Record on May 24, 1944 danced on his sixty-sixth birthday from Phillips’ Drive-In Cafe on upper Park Avenue to the Pythian Hotel, Malvern Avenue, a distance of almost two miles? Bill “Bojangles” Robinson

5. There was a Bar-B-Q Stand on Gulpha & Pleasant with 3 slot machines and their amusement tax was $45. The bar-b-q was so good that everyone, white and colored, could be seen leaving with a brown, greasy bag of ribs. What was the name of the bar-b-q stand? Town Talk

6. This colored school was first organized in 1903, with its first graduating class in 1910, and closed its doors as a high school in 1970. The mascot was a bull dog, what was the name of this school? Langston High School

7. What is the name of the first African American woman, from Hot Springs, to graduate from the University Of Arkansas Medical School in 1954? Dr. Edith Irby Jones

8. In 1924 Mr. James Ferguson, President and Rev. J. T. Hill, Treasurer and other businessmen created a burial association. It is historic and the only African American cemetery in Hot Springs. What is the name of the cemetery and where is it located?

Friendship Cemetery located on Shady Grove, across from Friendship Park.

9. St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, African American, 1905-1966 was once the largest Episcopal Church in the State and was located at 407 Cottage Street. After the church closed, what church, located just north of the new Civic and Convention Center became home for its members? St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

10. In 1893 A. C. Page was a mulatto proprietor of the Independent Bathhouse, the only bathhouse on the now “Historic Bathhouse Row” where colored people could bath. That same year, the Independent was bought out, the name was changed. What is the name of that bathhouse? The Maurice Bathhouse

11. Can you find the building that housed St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church and School? In 1940 Father Hanes, C.S.Sp. was invited to come to Hot Springs by Bishop Morris of Little Rock to assist in the work with the colored children at the Good Shepherd Convent (now St. Michael’s). In 1944 property was purchased on East Grand Avenue, and in 1948 a fine white stucco church was erected there. (Use Pleasant and Grand Avenues as a guideline, don’t go far, and just look up) The Artist Store, it has a steeple on top.

12. A school for St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church was located on Silver Street next to the residence of the Sisters of the Holy Heart of Mercy who taught the colored children. To find the school, use Fun Wash on Malvern Avenue as your guide, turn left and follow your nose a short distance and look to the right. What now stands in its place?

Nazarene Baptist Church

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