Verna Cook Garvan | History Lives in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas | Hot Springs National Park Arkansas

#HistoryLives explores the rich and often sordid history of Hot Springs, Arkansas! Our 210-acre botanical garden, Garvan Woodland Gardens, stands as a testament to its founder and creator, Verna Cook Garvan.

In the early 20th century the land we now know as Garvan Woodland Gardens was clear cut for timber. Arthur B. Cook, the owner of the Wisconsin-Arkansas Lumber Company, purchased the land because he saw potential in the otherwise desolate peninsula. After Arthur died in 1934, his daughter Verna Cook Garvan took over the family legacy - becoming one of the first female CEO's of a major southern manufacturing company. In 1956, Mrs. Garvan began to transform the land into the botanical paradise we now know as Garvan Woodland Gardens. Using her own two hands Mrs. Garvan laid out every pathway, and selected every plant. When Mrs. Garvan died in 1993, she entrusted the gardens to the Department of Landscape Architecture of the University of Arkansas, preserving her legacy for generations to come. 

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