 |
||
 |
||
 |
• HOME • GENERAL STORE • NATURAL HERITAGE • HISTORY, CULTURE & CRAFTSMANSHIP |
||||
|
History
• Eureka Springs |
|||||
| Eureka Springs Index • Basin Spring • Crescent Hotel • The Southern • Basin Park Hotel Into The Hills Index • Eureka Springs • Riverside Inn History Index • Into The Hills • Upper South • Native America • The Irish • The Germans • Civil War • Baldknobbers • Railroads • Ozark Bridges • Ozark Mills • Ozark Theaters • Historic Roads • Cemeteries • Ozark Barns • Springhouses Culture Index • Agriculture • Book Learning • Cooking • Craftsmanship • Faith in the Hills • History • Music • People of the Hills • Storytelling • Tourism |
|||
The Southern was built in the year 1880 adjacent to Basin Spring and some 25 feet above it on the hillside. L.M. Rainey of Missouri, its original ownder, sold the hotel to W.E. Beatty in 1886, at which time it was acclaimed to be one of the city's two finest hotels, the other being the Perry House, situated on the opposite side of the spring.
Damaged in the Great Fire of 1890, The Southern was repaired and enlarged to 100 rooms, gas lighted throughout, and boasting an outdoor "elevator" which lifted guests from Basin Spring level to hotel entrance.
William McQuerry owned the hotel in 1932 and had renamed it Southern Home. On November 12 that year, this handsome wooden structure which stood for just over half a century was destroyed in what the Times-Echo and other newspapers described as "a spectacular blaze."
_________
Editor's note: Even today, the threat of fire is very real in Eureka Springs and a robust fire department stands ready to prevent the losses typical of the town's past.
Major fires occurred in Eureka Springs in 1883 and 1890.
Article credits: At left, historic information regarding Eureka Springs landmarks are made available to the public by a series of plaques found throughout the town.
StateoftheOzarks thanks the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Community Development Partnership for making this information available.
Additionally, special thanks to Glenna Booth, Arkansas Community Excellent Coordinator of Eureka Springs.