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Women at Work
Women have long been at the heart of Hot Springs’ economy. From teachers and nurses to hospitality workers, clerks, and bathhouse attendants, their labor sustained essential industries, especially tourism and health. Often underrecognized, their work shaped daily life for residents and visitors alike. These women embodied skill, endurance, and service in a city built on caregiving, hospitality, and education.
Key Themes: labor history, service industry, education, caregiving
Image Credit: Courtesy of the Garland County Historical Society.
educators
bathhouse attendees
educators
Educators of Hot Springs played a vital role in shaping generations of students and strengthening the community. Through classrooms and lifelong advocacy for learning, these women expanded educational opportunities and helped build pathways in Hot Springs and Garland County.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Garland County Historical Society.
nurses
bathhouse attendees
educators
Nurses have long played a critical role in Hot Springs, providing care in hospitals, bathhouses, and homes for residents and visitors seeking healing. Nurses strengthened community health and helped lay the foundation for modern healthcare in Hot Springs and Garland County.
Image Credit: Garland County Historical Society archives; Levi Ar
Nurses have long played a critical role in Hot Springs, providing care in hospitals, bathhouses, and homes for residents and visitors seeking healing. Nurses strengthened community health and helped lay the foundation for modern healthcare in Hot Springs and Garland County.
Image Credit: Garland County Historical Society archives; Levi Arthritis Hospital, More Lasting Than Marble or Stone by D. E. Wagoner.
bathhouse attendees
bathhouse attendees
bathhouse attendees
Bathhouse attendants were essential to the operation of Hot Springs National Park, providing physician-prescribed treatments under demanding conditions. Highly trained and respected, many were African American women whose work shaped visitors’ experiences and helped sustain a strong local community.
Image Credit: Courtesy of National Park Service, Hot Springs National Park.
Women's army corps
bathhouse attendees
bathhouse attendees
The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, created in 1942, allowed women to serve in non-combat roles during World War II. This included administrative, medical, and technical positions. In Hot Springs, a WAC medical technical school opened at the Army and Navy General Hospital in 1943 to train women for military healthcare service.
Source: Encyc
The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, created in 1942, allowed women to serve in non-combat roles during World War II. This included administrative, medical, and technical positions. In Hot Springs, a WAC medical technical school opened at the Army and Navy General Hospital in 1943 to train women for military healthcare service.
Source: Encyclopedia of Arkansas, "Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps"
Image Credit: Courtesy of National Park Service, Hot Springs National Park.
Educators
Lelia Conte (1890-1956)
Lelia Morehead Conte was a lifelong educator whose leadership shaped generations of students in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Born in 1890 and raised in Hot Springs from childhood, Conte devoted nearly five decades to public education. After earning her degree from the University of Arkansas, she began teaching in the Hot Springs School District and quickly rose into school leadership. In 1918, she became principal of Jones School, a role she held for 38 years, guiding the school through periods of growth and change with a strong commitment to academic excellence and student development. Upon her retirement, she was honored with the distinguished title of Principal Emeritus, reflecting the deep respect she earned as an educator, administrator, and mentor.
Key Contributions
- Served 47 years in education in the Hot Springs School District
- Principal of Jones School for 38 years (1918–1956)
- Named Principal Emeritus of Jones School upon retirement
- Founding leader in Delta Kappa Gamma, serving as first State Treasurer and first President of the Hot Springs chapter
- Recognized with the Delta Kappa Gamma Service Award for contributions to women in education
Sources: Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, Arkansas - Founders & Leaders Biographical Records
Image Credit: Courtesy of Garland County Historical Society
Johnnie Mae Mackey (1901-1969)
Johnnie Mae Mackey was a longtime Arkansas educator and school leader whose influence shaped student life, discipline, and school culture across Hot Springs and Arkadelphia for nearly five decades. Best remembered for her commanding presence at Hot Springs High School, Mackey became a lasting figure in local educational memory.
Key Contributions
- Served nearly five decades in public education, shaping student life and school culture across Garland County
- Held leadership roles at Hot Springs High School, including Director of Student Activities and later principal
- After retiring as principal, joined the Hot Springs School Board, continuing her service to public education
- Known for her firm discipline, sharp wit, and commanding presence, becoming a legendary figure among alumni
- Honored with “Johnnie Mae Mackey Day” (circa 1969), proclaimed by Hot Springs mayor Dan Wolf, recognizing her lifelong contributions to education
- Remembered fondly during the 1997 rededication of the old Hot Springs High School building, when a former student famously portrayed “Mrs. Mackey” in character, an affectionate tribute that drew laughter from the audience, including the President of the United States
- Active in women’s clubs and civic organizations throughout Hot Springs
- Daughter of a Garland County legislator who served in the 48th Arkansas General Assembly
Source: Local photographs, alumni recollections, and community records
Image Credit: Original source unknown.
Mattie L. Collier (1906-1990)
Mattie L. Collier(1906-1990) was a respected educator and civic leader in Garland County. In 1970, Governor Dale Bumpers appointed her as an original member of the Board of Trustees of the Garland County Community College, now National Park College, where she encouraged the college president to hire Black faculty members. Collier dedicated her career to education as an elementary teacher, school counselor, and principal, serving most notably as principal of Goldstein Elementary School. She earned degrees from Arkansas Baptist College, Bishop College, and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, excelling academically despite limited educational opportunities for Black students.
Key Contributions
- Appointed in 1970 by Governor Dale Bumpers as an original member of the Board of Trustees of the Garland County Community College (now National Park College)
- Advocated for the hiring of Black faculty during the college’s formative years
- Dedicated her career to public education as an elementary teacher, school counselor, and principal
- Served as principal of Goldstein Elementary School until her retirement
Source: The Challengers: Untold Stories of African Americans Who Changed the System in One Small Southern Municipality by Elmer Beard, 2015.; Courtesy of Jean Lacefield.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Garland County Historical Society
Dorothy Lockhart Logan (1920-2010)
Dorothy Lockhart Logan was a respected educator, librarian, and historian whose work preserved African American history while shaping generations of students in Hot Springs, Arkansas. A graduate of Langston High School, Logan dedicated 35 years to the Hot Springs School District, teaching English, History, and French at Langston High School and later serving as a librarian at Hot Springs High School. Beyond the classroom, she was a community scholar, helping establish the Black History Club, advising library initiatives, and authoring historical articles that documented Black life and education in Hot Springs prior to integration. Her legacy reflects a lifelong commitment to education, scholarship, and community memory.
Key Contributions
- Teacher at Greenwood School, a one-room school for African-American students, where she taught all the grades
- 35 year career as teacher and librarian in the Hot Springs School District
- Taught English, History, and French at Langston High School
- Librarian at Hot Springs High School
- Initiated and co-sponsored the Black History Club
- Selected by the Arkansas State Department of Higher Education for a statewide bibliography on ethnic groups and contributions
- Contributed historical works including “A History of Blacks in Hot Springs Prior to Integration” and “The History of Langston High School”
- Served on the Garland County Community College Library Advisory Committee
Sources: Carrigan Memorial Funeral Home, "Dorothy Logan Obituary
Archival biography"; Dorothy Lockhart Logan, "Biography" (educational and community service record)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Garland County Historical Society, 1970 HSHS Old Gold Book
Bathhouse Attendants
Mattie Fielding (c. 1860)
Born enslaved in Alabama around 1860, Mattie Fielding came to Hot Springs by 1880 and began work on the Hot Springs Reservation in 1904. She spent 22 years at the Government Free Bathhouse, overseeing the bath hall for African American women and working daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. One of the earliest African American federal employees in Hot Springs, Fielding also supported Black hospitals, organized civic efforts, and secured employment for her daughter before retiring in 1926.
Source and Image Credit: Courtesy of National Park Service, Hot Springs National Park. “Mattie Fielding”
Mary Webster (1880)
Mary Webster moved to Hot Springs around 1900 and entered the bathing industry with her husband. After early work at the Magnesia Bathhouse, she began at the Hale Bathhouse in 1915, where she remained for 45 years. Known for her endurance and compassion, Webster administered hundreds of baths weekly and worked more than 50 years total in the bathing industry, quietly sustaining her family and the healing mission of the park. There are no known images of Mary Webster to exist. The image shown represents the Hale Bathhouse where she worked. There are no known images of Mary Webster to exist. The image shown represents the Hale Bathhouse where she worked.
Source and Image Credit: Courtesy of National Park Service, Hot Springs National Park. “Mary Webster.”; Hale Bathhouse, 1916. National Park Service, Hot Springs National Park archives.
Maggie Northcott (1895)
Born in Arkansas in 1895, Maggie Northcott began working at Hot Springs National Park in 1931 during the Great Depression, serving thousands of women at the Government Free Bathhouse. She worked there for at least fifteen years and continued as a bathhouse attendant in other facilities. In the 1950s, she was honored by the park superintendent for 25 years of dedicated service. Her work provided essential public service and care to visitors during a challenging era.
Source and Image Credit: Courtesy of National Park Service, Hot Springs National Park. “Maggie Northcott.”
Roberta Gibson (c. early 1900's)
Roberta Gibson began working at the Government Free Bathhouse in the early 1930s and served for more than two decades. She cared for indigent visitors through the Great Depression, World War II, and the postwar tourism boom. Gibson witnessed the final day of service on March 22, 1957, when the bathhouse closed, ending nearly 80 years of free public bathing.
Source and Image Credit: Courtesy of National Park Service, Hot Springs National Park. “Roberta Gibson (Roberta Jackson).”
Thelma guinn (c. early 1900's)
Thelma Guinn was a dedicated employee of the Government Free Bathhouse at Hot Springs National Park and a committed community leader in Hot Springs, Arkansas. As the segregated practices at Bathhouse Row were being challenged in the mid-20th century, she played an active role in efforts to improve access and equality for Black residents and visitors. Beyond her work in the park, Guinn led local women’s civic organizations and served as a leader within the Hot Springs NAACP, helping to advance civil rights locally and ensure greater inclusion in community institutions.
Key Contributions
- Longtime attendant at the Government Free Bathhouse, witnessing its closure in 1957
- President, City Federation of Women’s Clubs in Hot Springs, supporting Black women’s community leadership
- Active member of the local NAACP chapter during desegregation efforts
- Chairperson of the NAACP’s Freedom Fund, advocating for desegregation of public establishments including bathhouses
Source and Image Credit: Courtesy of National Park Service, Hot Springs National Park. “Thelma Guinn.” Thelma is the second from the right.