Arkansas’s hidden garden gem is too beautiful to miss

Verna Garvan’s Transformation of Clear-Cut Arkansas into Botanical Paradise

In 1915, loggers stripped every tree from 210 acres of Arkansas land near Lake Hamilton. The bare plot sat empty until Arthur Cook bought it for his timber firm in the 1920s.

After his death in a 1934 car crash, his 24-year-old daughter Verna took charge of his lumber and brick companies.

From South Carolina, she ran the family business through the Great Depression, even supplying bricks for White House fireplaces.

When her first husband tried to have her committed to a mental ward in 1956, Verna won in court, moved back to Arkansas, and began a new mission.

Over forty years, she planted thousands of trees and flowers on the once-barren peninsula.

The stunning Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs now stands as proof of what one determined woman can grow from nothing.

Loggers Cut Down Every Tree on Arkansas Peninsula in 1915

In 1915, loggers chopped down every tree on a 210-acre peninsula sticking out into Lake Hamilton in Arkansas. The land stood completely bare after this huge cutting job.

Only stumps and naked soil remained. The peninsula formed when Arkansas Power & Light built Carpenter Dam, creating Lake Hamilton.

Arthur Cook bought this stripped land in the 1920s to feed his Wisconsin-Arkansas Lumber Company mill. Nobody thought this ruined land would one day become a plant paradise.

Arthur Cook Died in a Car Crash

Arthur B. Cook died suddenly in a car wreck on August 12, 1934.

His 24-year-old daughter Verna was about to get married when she got the news.

Arthur left behind big companies including Wisconsin-Arkansas Lumber Company, which made oak and pine flooring, and Malvern Brick and Tile. Verna’s mother and sister didn’t want to run these businesses.

The family put all companies under one name, A. B. Cook Company, and needed someone to take over.

24-Year-Old Woman Took Over Major Companies

Verna married Alonzo Bernard Alexander on October 1, 1934, and said she and her new husband should run her father’s business empire. At just 24, she became one of the first women to lead a major Southern factory company.

Though she moved to South Carolina with her husband, Verna ran the Arkansas businesses from far away through managers she hired.

She wanted to show she could succeed as a businesswoman when women had just gotten voting rights.

Her Business Smarts Saved the Company During the Depression

Verna made smart business choices that helped her family get through the tough Great Depression years, even while running everything from South Carolina.

Her brick company won big jobs, including making fire brick for White House fireplaces that needed fixing. Malvern Brick sent more than 30,000 bricks for the Army and Navy Hospital in Hot Springs.

Wisconsin-Arkansas Lumber kept making wood floors while Malvern Brick grew into one of the biggest brick makers around.

Her Husband Tried to Put Her in a Mental Ward

Tragedy struck when Verna’s only son, Arthur Cook Alexander, died from cystic fibrosis in November 1954. He was just 16 years old.

As her marriage fell apart, her husband Lonnie tried something awful. He tried to put Verna in a mental hospital in Florida.

Sheriff deputies took her and held her for three days without letting her call anyone. The courts found her completely sane and said Alexander’s claims had no truth.

She Came Back to Arkansas and Took Full Control

Verna’s marriage to Alexander ended in divorce in 1956 after two years of nasty legal fights. She moved back to Arkansas for good and took direct control of her businesses.

This made her one of the first female bosses in the state.

By the time she died, people said she owned the biggest collection of timber rights in all of Arkansas. Her success stood out in a world where men ran most businesses.

The Bare Land Started Changing in the Mid-1950s

Around 1955 or 1956, Verna began working on the 210-acre peninsula property. Though she never took classes on landscaping, she knew what she wanted.

Verna walked the land herself, planning each path and marking every tree that needed cutting. For the next forty years, she personally picked each new plant and decided where to put it.

She made one rule clear: nobody would ever cut down all the trees on her land again.

Love Came Later in Life for the Businesswoman

In the late 1950s, Verna met Francis Patrick Garvan Jr. , whose family from New York City visited Hot Springs.

They fell in love and got married on June 29, 1960. The couple lived in Hot Springs while planning to build a new home on the peninsula.

When Patrick died suddenly in 1975, Verna dropped the home-building plans.

She sold her brick company to Acme Brick in the 1970s and focused all her energy on growing her garden.

Thousands of Plants Filled the Once-Empty Landscape

Mrs. Garvan planted thousands of plants across the property, slowly building an amazing collection.

The garden grew to include hundreds of rare shrubs and trees. She added camellias, magnolias, and more than 160 different types of azaleas.

Hundreds of kinds of fancy and local trees and shrubs grew where nothing had lived before. Rock gardens, a line of cone-bearing trees, and groups of bulbs and perennial flowers completed her living artwork.

The University of Arkansas Became Guardian of Her Vision

After years of hard work on the landscape, Verna looked for someone to care for the gardens after she died. This search led her to create an endowment agreement with the University of Arkansas.

In 1985, she hired famous Arkansas architect E. Fay Jones to design a centerpiece for the garden, now known as the Verna Cook Garvan Pavilion.

That same year, she gave 40 acres to the University’s Department of Landscape Architecture, calling it The Twentieth Century Gardens.

Her Death in 1993 Gave Birth to a Public Garden Paradise

Verna Garvan died from pancreatic cancer in 1993. Her will left the entire property to the Department of Landscape Architecture through the University of Arkansas Foundation.

She wanted the Gardens to serve the people of Arkansas through education and enjoyment.

Today, Garvan Woodland Gardens stands as a 210-acre botanical garden with a mission of education, research, and public service.

The once-barren peninsula now ranks among America’s most beautiful woodland gardens, a living monument to one woman’s vision and determination.

Visiting Garvan Woodland Gardens, Hot Springs

Garvan Woodland Gardens at 550 Arkridge Road showcases Verna Cook Garvan’s remarkable story as one of the 1930s South’s first female CEOs who transformed clear-cut Arkansas timberland into a premier botanical garden.

Adults pay $25 admission ($20 online), kids 4-12 pay $15 ($10 online), under 3 free. Golf cart tours cost $20 per person.

Dogs welcome for $5 extra. Book Mrs. Garvan’s Tea living history presentation in advance.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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