Norman Baker (1882-1958)

Academic-reference biographical entry by historian Michael B. Dougan (Jonesboro, Arkansas), published by the Encyclopedia of Arkansas (Central Arkansas Library System), last updated 1 March 2026 per the page's own byline/date line, fetched directly (via the WebFetch tool, which reached the page successfully). Confirms Baker's life dates (27 November 1882 - 8 September 1958); that he purchased the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs in July 1937; that he was tried on mail-fraud charges in 1940 and imprisoned at Leavenworth from March 1941 to July 1944; that an Iowa court in 1932 found his cancer cure to be nothing more than clover, corn silk, watermelon seed, and water; that an assistant U.S. attorney, Leon Catlett, quoted Baker as having boasted he could reap a million dollars from the state's cancer patients; and that at the Crescent, Baker painted much of the building lavender or purple. Also confirms Harry Hoxsey worked at the Baker Institute in Muscatine for a time. Note on mechanical re-verification: although the WebFetch tool reached this page directly (twice, each returning distinct verbatim sentences on request), the repo's own `verify-quotes` script -- a separate, unauthenticated plain HTTP fetch -- was blocked by the site's browser challenge when re-checked, so no fact from this source is presented in the bundle as a quoted, verify-quotes-covered span; every fact taken from this page is paraphrased instead, and this source's role is corroborating, not sole support, for any single-sourced claim.