McLeod’s Amusement Park, later known as Happy Hollow, was a favorite spot for Hot Springs National Park visitors and locals from the late 1880s until 1948. McLeod first established a photo gallery at Happy Hollow. Most of the photography was Wild West themed, with life size models of all kinds of cowboys, clowns, and funny people. Painted on a huge canvas was a log cabin and a wild west saloon. Visitors could sit astride a donkey or a stuffed buffalo, wear a wide brimmed hat and carry a play pistol. One of the most fascinating attractions for picture making was a huge bathtub. Men would get into the bathtub and take off their shirts so that the picture would give the impression that they were nude. Visitors would send, or take home these comical souvenirs.

The shooting gallery was another popular attraction. The shooting gallery drew the attention of Wild West fans and famous gunmen. There were many brawls and fights over who hit the mark. The targets were bottles of all sizes and shapes, sitting on a shelf on the side of the mountain. Many years later, park employees found fragments of many bottles on the mountain, some barring labels from foreign countries.

There were over one hundred caged wild animals at Happy Hollow, as well as burros, ponies, and horses ready to take children and adults for a ride. Another major feature was a huge black bear that wrestled with a man every day. The bear would stand on his hind feet and slap at the man, sometimes so severely, that the man lost the fight. Crowds shouted and yelled as if watching a real boxing match.

Norman McLeod helped many invalids who came to Hot Springs to take the thermal baths. McLeod also rented his cottages in the park to the people who needed a home and often failed to collect the rent. In 1908, Norman McLeod sold his interest in Happy Hollow to Dave Anselberg who continued to operate it until his death in 1948. Today, the Happy Hollow Spring is one of the only landmarks left of this great amusement park. In addition, Happy Hollow Motel, built on the old park grounds at 230 Fountain Street, preserves the Happy Hollow name.

Credits and Sources:

“Norman Macleod's Happy Hollow Amusement Park” GCHS Record, 1981.

Quinn Evans Architects, Mundus Bishop Design, and Woolpert, Inc. Hot Springs National Park, Cultural Landscape Report and Environmental Assessment. National Park Service, 2010.