Hot Springs became a health resort because of its mineral water. That was long before what I call the "lake era." These days, people more often think of Hot Springs as their base of operations when "going to the lake" during the summer. They rarely, if ever, consider bathing in hot mineral water, the thing that made Hot Springs famous.

The "lake era" traces its roots back to 1870 when Congress authorized a survey of the Ouachita River in an effort to improve navigability and prevent floods. No work took place until the 1920s when Harvey Couch and his Arkansas Power and Light Co. began searching for sites for hydroelectric dams. Couch had founded AP&L (now Entergy) in 1913.

The Ouachita River often flooded due to a drop in elevation of 228 feet from its headwaters near the base of Rich Mountain in west Arkansas to Arkadelphia. It falls another 82 feet between Arkadelphia and Camden.

"In 1916, former steamboat captain Flave Carpenter met with Couch to discuss the possibility of building dams on the river," Will Smethers writes for the Central Arkansas Library System's Encyclopedia of Arkansas. "Carpenter took Couch to the river and showed him two possible sites for a dam. Couch commissioned several engineering firms to study the river and then develop plans for hydroelectric dams.

"After World War I, demand for electricity increased, though only marginally in Arkansas. Couch foresaw the future increase in demand and sought to meet it by constructing a hydroelectric dam. He went to Washington, D.C., to secure a building license and discovered that Secretary of War John Weeks, who was in charge of the licensing commission, was leaving for an extended trip to Alaska. Couch feared that a delay in getting the license would cause his New York investors to pull out.

"Couch had a chance encounter in his hotel lobby with Col. Harmon Remmel of Arkansas, who knew Weeks. Remmel set up a meeting between Couch and Weeks, who agreed to a licensing hearing the following Monday. At........

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