he accused of being corrupt and profit-driven.[3]
Crescent Hotel in 2014
Having been run out of Iowa for practicing medicine without a license, Baker moved his cancer patients to Arkansas and advertised his new health resort at the Crescent. His "cure" consisted primarily of drinking the area's natural spring water.[clarification needed] In 1940, federal charges were filed against Baker for mail fraud and he spent four years in prison.[3] The Crescent Hotel was left ownerless until 1946. In the spring of 1946, the Crescent Hotel was purchased by John R. Constantine, Herbert E. Shutter, Herbert Byfield, and Dwight Nichols. On March 15, 1967, the hotel was nearly burned to the ground. The only living owner at this time was Dwight Nichols.
In 1997, Marty and Elise Roenigk purchased the Crescent Hotel for $1.3 million.[4] They oversaw a six-year restoration and renovation of the hotel rooms.[1] Marty Roenigk died in a car crash in 2009; Elise Roenigk remains the hotel's current owner.[5]
The building was listed on the National Register of.
