The Mountain Valley Spring Water Visitor Center: Welcome to Our Home

Your favorite water comes from our favorite place, and we’d love for you to visit. 

The Mountain Valley Spring Water Visitor Center was constructed in 1910 as a Classic Revival building. Originally built atop one of Hot Springs, Arkansas’s famous springs, it sits in the city’s Central Avenue Historic District near the legendary Bathhouse Row. 

With towering columns and a series of period-authentic restorations completed in 2004, the Mountain Valley Visitor Center is proud to hold a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, along with many of our neighbors. Our hometown has played host to notorious gangsters, legendary athletes and the roaringest big bands of the 1920s. And our visitor center’s doors remain open to all seven days a week.

The Mountain Valley Spring Water Visitor Center

Address: 150 Central Ave., Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas 71901

Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday

Call: 501-246-8017

Our Origins

In 1871, pharmacist Peter Greene and his brother John put their money where their health was, investing in a mineral spring in The Ouachita Mountains of Hot Springs, Arkansas. They renamed the spring after a nearby township, bottling its waters for distribution throughout the region and, eventually, across the country. And so Mountain Valley Spring Water sprang to life. 

More than 50 years later, in 1924, Mountain Valley took over the DeSoto Springs Mineral Water Co. and its Classic Revival space on Central Avenue. The two-story brick building was erected in 1910 specifically to house a mineral-water depot. In 1921, a third level was added to house a dance hall with space for live music. The building remained the DeSoto Spring Water Depot and DeSoto Dance Hall until 1936, when Mountain Valley made the building its national headquarters and visitor center.

Before the Visitor Center …

Soon after buying the spring and giving it its now-famous Mountain Valley name, the Greene brothers built an onsite hotel where guests could bathe in the spring and imbibe its refreshing, mineral-rich waters. The resort proved popular, drawing guests from as far away as Austria and Germany. 

By the early 1900s, the Mountain Valley Hotel was the place to be. The Greene’s humble haven evolved into a stunning, three-story property with lush gardens surrounding that same onsite spring — fed by the pure, crisp waters we still bottle to this day. The Mountain Valley Hotel beckoned wellness seekers from around the world before burning down in 1934.

Delivering from the Source since 1871

A few miles from our visitor center, in the lush heart of the Ouachita Mountains, is where every bottle of Mountain Valley Spring Water is born. As America’s oldest continually operating bottled water company, Mountain Valley has stayed true to our source for more than 150 years. 

Our bottling plant has always operated adjacent to our protected natural spring. What started as a simple, family operation way back when has grown into a state-of-the-art facility where our signature green-glass bottles are filled with the purest, most refreshing water we’ve ever tasted.

Yesterday Meets Today

What’s in store among these historic walls? Here's a sneak peek at just some of the pieces of Mountain Valley history — and American history — you can see in our Visitor Center.

Water Fit for a King

Among Mountain Valley’s famous fans, one remains King. The legendary Elvis Presley was a dedicated devotee of Mountain Valley — so much so that requests for our water often appeared in the riders for his shows, and a green bottle remains on display at Graceland.

Just What The Doctor Ordered

In our early years, Mountain Valley Spring Water wasn’t simply refreshing, it was prescriptive. The Ouachita Mountain mineral springs from which our water is sourced have long been known for their healing properties. From the indigenous Tunica, Caddo and Quapaw peoples to wellness seekers from around the world, humans have been drawn to these waters for thousands of years. 

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, those who couldn’t travel to our springs could be prescribed our water by their doctors. A Mountain Valley ad from the 1930s claimed it “combats acidity - flushes kidneys.” In 1955, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s physician advised him to drink Mountain Valley Spring Water following the president’s heart attack. Today, Mountain Valley only feels prescriptive. Hydration, we’ve learned, is crucial to good health.

Hydrating Boxing Legends

Muhammed Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Floyd Patterson, Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney — when we at Mountain Valley learned our purely sourced spring water had been used to fuel some of boxing’s biggest names, well, we were knocked out. Another boxing icon we kept hydrated: the legendary world heavyweight champion Joe Louis. As Louis’s trainer once wrote, “Because most water varies not only from city to city but even from the same source, I’ve solved my problem by stocking in a supply of Mountain Valley Water.” It takes the best to hydrate the best.

Horse racing’s (not so) secret weapon

The key to winning the Triple Crown may be in the water. Horse-racing legend Secretariat’s famed trainer, Lucien Laurin, and owner Helen Tweedy gave the thoroughbred Mountain Valley Spring Water when the horse had health problems. They were so thrilled with his recovery that Secretariat continued to drink Mountain Valley throughout his career, and they continued the hydration practice with Secretariat’s offspring. In addition, many horse-racing legends were fueled by Mountain Valley, so much so that The Mountain Valley Stakes became a longstanding annual tradition at Oaklawn, one of the premiere thoroughbred racetracks in the country since 1904, located in our hometown of Hot Springs.

Water with a Side of Swing

Our visitor center’s third floor holds a special bit of history. It was originally a big-band hot spot of the Roaring ‘20s, famously known as the “Japanese Ballroom.” The space’s original ceiling and period fixtures have been fully restored. While the third floor is now used for offices, we at Mountain Valley Spring Water continue to celebrate and support new and legendary musicians with our event partnerships.

A Nod from the Halls of Little Rock

Mountain Valley Spring Water received some wonderful 150th anniversary wishes in 2021, including one from the governor of our home state. Arkansas’s leader recognized our employees and their hard work in writing Sept. 21, 2021. The letter praised our connections to such legendary Mountain Valley fans as Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, Sugar Ray Leonard and Elvis Presley. It noted, “From Coolidge to Clinton, Mountain Valley Spring Water has been the official water at the White House and is still served on the Senate floor today.” We’re blushing. It’s always nice to see our Hot Springs-based team recognized for its dedication.

A Mountain Valley Holiday

We were honored to have Hot Springs Mayor Pat McCabe declare Oct. 9, 2021 as the first official Mountain Valley Spring Water Day in our beloved hometown. We think the natural next step is, of course, making it a national holiday, as well.

Be Our Guest!

We know there are a lot of reasons to visit Hot Springs, so the next time you plan your visit we invite you to drink in the history of the Mountain Valley Visitor Center in person. Tour our museum. Sample our award-winning spring waters. Buy some one-of-a-kind Mountain Valley merch. Take home a case or two to share. Come, sip, and find yourself refreshed.

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