History of Hot Springs VillageHot Springs Village was the vision of John A. Cooper, Sr. , an Arkansas native. In the early 1960's he conceived the idea of a well-planned, self contained community that would fill the needs of a rapidly growing population of healthy, affluent retirees. His first attempt was the development of Cherokee Village near Hardy in northeast Arkansas. By 1969, the John A. Cooper Company had become the nation's most successful planned community builders and they were ready to expand. A long time friend of John A. Cooper, Senator Bud Canada and Peter D. Joers, president of the Dierks Coal & Lumber Company had a similar idea of creating a new retirement community near Hot Springs. Senator Canada expedited the way for their development by participating in legislation that allowed such developments to be incorporated under the laws of the State of Arkansas. Peter Joers proposed that Cooper purchase a section of land southeast of Jessieville from Dierks for the development of a new retirement complex. Cooper arrived in Hot Springs in December 1969 and took a flying tour of the property. He immediately saw the possibilities of the rolling terrain. Two weeks later on December 23, 1969, the Cooper Company acquired 20,000 acres from Dierks Forests, Inc. a subsidiary of the Weyerhaeuser Company. Plans were announced January 21, 1970 for the immediate development of Hot Springs Village. Groundbreaking occurred February 15 and by June 1 the Village officially opened with the completion of a beautiful entrance park and an impressive, rustic stone building to house sales and administration offices, both designed by noted Arkansas architect, E. Fay Jones from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Plans for developing the first 4,000 acres called for an 18-hole championship golf course (Desoto Golf Course) designed by Edmund Ault of Bethesda, Maryland, an elegant club house designed by E. Fay Jones, four parks, and a 200 acre lake (Desoto Lake) all to be completed by 1971. Infrastructure for paved roads, electricity, sewage disposal, water supply, telephone service and trash collection as well as the police and fire department guaranteed all the modern conveniences of a modern city. Peter Joers, became the first property owner when he purchased his lot in May. He bought a premier lake lot to overlook the soon to be constructed Lake Desoto. Several more lots were purchased by others and by November there were 21 homes under construction. Two years later, the Village had 244 miles of road and over 20 miles of sewage lines. Over the next 30 years the Village grew eastward until it has covered 26,000 acres, over 450 miles of road, 8,600 homes and townhomes, 15,600 residents, and over 35,000 property owners. We now have 8-18 hole golf courses, a 27-hole golf course, 12 lakes, a 650 seat auditorium, state of the art fitness center, indoor swimming pool, medical facilities and several restaurants. The Village is now owned by the Property Owners Association (POA). We are a private, tax exempt home owners association. The governing body of the POA consists of a general manager and a 7 member volunteer Board of Directors, that are elected in staggered 3 year terms. The day by day operation is handled by an average of 475 employees assigned to one of six departments: Administration, Golf, Planning and Inspection, Public Works, Public Safety and Recreation. Hot Springs Village as a Declaration and Covenants and Restrictions which all property owners must comply with. Today Hot Springs Village is a desirable place to live. If you need help with finding your Hot Springs Village home contact Nancy Kizer, your Hot Springs Village Realtor. Take a minute to browse through my featured listings in Hot Springs.
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