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Natural Heritage |  |
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History
• Eureka Springs |
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| Eureka Springs Index • Basin Spring • Crescent Hotel • The Southern • Basin Park Hotel _______ Into The Hills • Eureka Springs _______ |
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by Joshua Heston
Eureka Springs, founded on July 4, 1879, and tucked into a deep Ozark hollow between East and West Mountains, is an eclectic, Southern gothic contradiction.
Notable for its number of beautiful churches and lying beneath the watchful eyes of the second largest statue of Christ in the world, the town revels in its ghost stories, its UFO conferences and its irreverent post-sixties' nature.
The Crescent Hotel is listed by some as the most haunted in the Ozarks and ghost tours are given regularly.
The Thorncrown Chapel just outside of town — a majestic creation of wood and glass — is considered "one of the finest religious spaces of modern times" by some critics.
According to legend, Native Americans considered the valley's springs to possess healing qualities. It is believed that white settlers did not learn of the springs until 1856.
The waters were, however, already being exploited by the time of the Civil War as a Dr. Alvah Jackson opened a hospital for injured soldiers, doing a brisk business treating both Confederates and Yankees with "miracle waters."
By the 1870s, claims of miracle cures from the water had spread.
The town, under the able leadership of a certain General Powell Clayton, attracted thousands.
A boomtown was created.
Clayton, a former Union general, is credited with spearheading plans to promote the area.
His efforts to attract the railroad proved fruitful. The development of the Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Railway Company was instrumental in ushering in an age of riches and graciousness for the town.
The 20th century, however, was not kind to Eureka Springs. In time, the nation's craze for miracle water cures waned.
World War I, the Depression, and World War II led to immense social changes for the region.
The town thought of as a cultural jewel set amidst the roughness of the Ozarks had clearly lost its shine.
(continued at right)
Center, the Perry House (destroyed by fire in 1892 and replaced by the Basin Park Hotel in 1905). The Basin Park Hotel stands today.
At central right is the trademark Flat-Iron Building (a reconstruction today). And at upper right is the famed Crescent Hotel high atop East Mountain.
Artwork credits: Louis Freund, Dorothy Marie, Don Kennett, Betty Rotramel (Eureka Springs Guild of Artists and Craftspeople), June 1, 1979.
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Below, a building on Spring Street, across from the Basin Park Hotel. The Eureka Springs historic district is built between two mountainsides and it is common to see an elevation drop of over two stories between adjoining streets.
Photography credits: J. Heston, 04/17/08.
By the '60s, the city again attracted attention, this time for its low cost of real estate. Many of the decade's social revolutionaries came looking for a beautiful, easy-living place to settle.
In time, the resulting influx of artistic, counter-culture "hippies" permanently changed the face of Eureka Springs.
An arts community developed and with it, a culture unique to the Ozarks.
Here, in the heart of the nation's Bible belt are vibrant Greenwich leftists rubbing shoulders with "Area-51-type" paranormal enthusiasts, all mixed with traditional Ozarkers.
The occasional tourism-minded land developer seems to be thrown in for good measure.
Today, a friendly — albeit prickly — relationship exists amongst the townsfolk constantly working to balance financial success against personal ideals.
Perhaps it is this continued duality that proves so intriguing to visitors and residents alike.
May 3, 2008