TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME – GREETINGS:

WHEREAS:    Hot Springs, Arkansas, was explored by early European arrivals to the Louisiana Territory, who noted the area’s thermal springs. It was incorporated in 1851;

WHEREAS:    Hot Springs briefly served as Arkansas’ capital in 1862 during the Civil War. Governor Henry Rector feared that Little Rock would be captured so he moved the capital to Hot Springs from May until July;

WHEREAS:    Following the end of the Civil War, Hot Springs’ population grew quickly as bathhouses and hotels opened. With a new railroad in 1874 and the opening of the Arlington Hotel in 1875, Hot Springs became a nationally renowned luxury destination;

WHEREAS:    Hot Springs is known as the birthplace of spring training baseball, starting with the Chicago White Stockings in 1886. In the following decades, teams from around the country and greats including Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Jackie Robinson practiced and played in the city;

WHEREAS:    Hot Springs National Park was established in 1921 and the City of Hot Springs remains the only city in America situated within a national park. To this day, tourism drives the city’s economy and attracts visitors from around the world;

WHEREAS:    Governor Sanders’ “Capital for a Day” program highlights great cities around Arkansas like Hot Springs and brings senior state government officials into town to meet with their local counterparts and to ensure that adequate services are provided to all Arkansans; and

WHEREAS:    Hot Springs will serve as the third “Capital for a Day” under Governor Sanders and will momentarily serve as Arkansas’ seat of government.


NOW, THEREFORE, I, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, Governor of the State of Arkansas, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the State of Arkansas, do hereby name Hot Springs, Arkansas, our Capital for a Day on November 6th, 2023, and invite our senior state government officials to join me in a visit to the city. 

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 3rd day of November, in the year of our Lord 2023.