Our family moved from central Wisconsin to Hot Springs Village, Ar in 1985. Smack dab in the middle of the beautiful Ouachita Mountains, this gated community had a population of about 3,000-4,000 people, mostly retirees from TX, IL and WI. We were the youngins, and constituted the work force. My husband worked on one of the golf courses and I worked for a dentist. Our 2 children went to a K-12 school outside the gates with a combined attendance of about 600 children from inside and outside the gates. It was often said "you're a Yankee if you come down to visit, you're a damn Yankee if you stay"....beautiful area, man made lakes, polished golf courses some designed by Ault, Clark and Associates, quiet with that Southern hospitality thrown in....
I digress....at that time the main 2 lane highway into Hot Springs was "scenic" Hwy 5, (there was a longer route going through miles and miles of Weyerhaeuser woods. My kids learned what a "clear cut" and a "billet hauler", etc. were from going that route). As you approach the gate of HSV (Hot Springs Village) on Hwy 5, and because you're in the mountains, you have a rather steep incline. Word was there was a sign at the top of that particular area stating "No n*****s allowed after dark".....it had been removed by "damn Yankees" about 5 years previously when the Village was gaining momentum.
I had never heard of this massacre either, does it surprise me? Truthfully, no....and it sickens me.