Which National Park Service site began in 1832 as the first federally protected U.S. reservation?

Hot Springs National Park began in 1832 as the first federally protected U.S. reservation.

Congress created the Hot Springs Reservation in Arkansas on April 20, 1832, to protect the area's thermal springs. The action predates Yellowstone's 1872 establishment as the first national park and represents an earlier federal effort to preserve a natural feature for public use.

The springs attracted visitors seeking their warm mineral waters, and the surrounding town developed bathing facilities, hotels, and medical services. The federal government later improved regulation and infrastructure to control access to the springs and protect the resource.

The site became Hot Springs National Park in 1921. This history explains why “first federally protected area” and “first national park” are different claims: Hot Springs was reserved decades earlier, while Yellowstone established the national-park model.