Eureka Springs Arkansas

Eureka Springs is a bit like a time warp. The entire city is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is one of America’s Distinctive Destinations as determined by the National Trust for Historic Places. It has generally been referred to as “The Little Switzerland of America” and “The Stair step Town” because of its mountainous terrain and the winding up and down paths of its streets. In fact, some of the named streets on the city map are actually staircases, such as Tibbs Alley which connects Center Street to North Main Street. We learned about Eureka Springs from our friends Rick and Sue Dunbar who we met at Surfside RV Resort in Port Aransas Texas. They raved about the town and the Wanderlust RV Park, so we have had it on our list of places to go for quite some time.

Long before white Europeans were here, Native American legends told of a Great Healing Spring in the area. Dr. Alvah Jackson was credited with discovering Basin Spring in 1856, and he reported that the soothing waters had cured him of his eye ailments. During the Civil War, history documents how the spring waters here healed many an injured soldier. When the word of the miraculous healing waters got out, people began moving to Eureka Springs in droves. The city was incorporated in 1880, and by 1889, it was the second largest city in Arkansas – second only to Little Rock.

The discovery of Basin Spring was followed soon by the finding of another spring which, of course, healed skin maladies. The race was off, and soon the spring wars were on. Each new spring discovered in the town was advertised to heal some new malady, and several were advertised to heal several. To attract those coming with money, stone structures and beautiful gardens were built around these springs by their owners. Ultimately city ordinances put all springs in the hands of the public to preserve them for all time and assure their upkeep.

Before it was all over, no fewer than 63 springs were discovered in Eureka Springs. They are not the heated springs we discovered in Hot Springs Arkansas, but testing has shown many of the springs to contain some of the most pure waters in the world. 

We didn’t manage to find all 63 – some of the early springs no longer produce reliable water so have become obscure – but we did visit several dozen, and enjoyed each one.

Generally it is the wealthy that can move to gain access to health care. As a result, as Eureka Springs was totally overrun by really nice homes. As the time of its boom was late 1800’s, most of the architecture is Victorian. As a result, it is claimed that there are more Victorian homes in Eureka Springs than in any other location in the world. Early on those responsible for managing the town realized how important this legacy would be and established city laws that act much like the rules in a community association. People who own a home here not only have to deal with federal code restrictions due to being on the National Register of Historic Places, but also have to deal with local ordinances. Some of those local regulations deal with details such as color of paint requiring pre-approval, required maintenance and yard grooming, and others. I asked a homeowner if the regulation was oppressive, and she it wasn’t that hard to comply, and was worth it to keep the feel of this historic city alive.

As we moved around town, it seemed that every building had a significant story to tell. During the height of the influx of the rich, the Crescent Hotel was built in 1886, the grandest hotel in Arkansas. Constructed of native limestone, it is a feast for the eyes. Eureka Springs has been a boom/bust town, and hit its first of many busts at the turn of the century. Declining tourism and the high cost of maintenance caused this grand beauty to fall into disrepair and close. It was reopened in 1908 as the Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women. The Great Depression brought an end to the mild success it had as a school, and it again closed.

In the late 1930’s, its new owner Norman G. Baker reopened it as a cancer hospital. Unfortunately, Baker was not a doctor and really had no knowledge of curing cancer. Although patients flocked there for the cures offered, none of them ever left the hospital other than in a prone position. In the 1940’s federal charges were brought against Baker for fraud, the Crescent was again closed and Baker went to prison for four years.

After being empty for much of the time, the hotel was purchased by Marty and Elise Roenigk who oversaw a 6 year renovation of the hotel, restoring it to its original 1886 grandeur. Sadly Marty died in a car accident in 2009. But Elise still lives on 5^th floor of the hotel in her private penthouse and oversees the operation of this time capsule of a hotel. We stood on the 4^th floor balcony of the hotel just under her penthouse and looked down at the Victorian garden, the panoramic Ozark Mountain Scenery, and our first glimpse of Christ of the Ozarks.

Speaking of time capsules, we found them in many locations in town. This town is so old and has so much history that several of the buildings we visited have visible time capsules in them. They all looked very similar, and had various dates when they were set and when they would be opened in the future. When I first saw these, I thought there were just immense Hookahs – guess I goofed.

In keeping with the Eureka Springs theme Gerald K Smith, a clergyman born in 1898 who later became a leader in the Christian Nationalist Crusade, retired here in 1964, bought an old mansion, and began development of a religious theme park. In 1966 he hired Emmet Sullivan, a sculptor who worked under Gutzon Borglum on Mount Rushmore, to create Christ of the Ozarks, the centerpiece of his park. The nearly 70 foot tall statue overlooks the Ozarks and the town of Eureka Springs.

Smith developed recreations of scenes from the Holy Land. He created the Inn in Bethlehem where there was no room for Mary and Joseph as well as the manger where Jesus was born. He created the scene of the Last Supper, and the mound where Jesus hung crucified on the cross as well as the tomb where his body was laid afterward. But the most moving portion of the Holy Lands was when we visited the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Our focus was on the docent telling us about the historic significance when suddenly there was a booming voice that seemed to come from the clouds themselves. When we looked to the water, there, standing on top of the waters of Galilee was Jesus in a white robe, preaching to the masses. It was impossible not to be moved, the hair standing on your neck. It was particularly well done.

Inside the Holy Land was a full-scale replication of the Tabernacle. While we didn’t bump into Moses there, I was looking around for either Harrison Ford or Indiana Jones. I thought the Ark of the Covenant was buried in some massive federal warehouse somewhere, but no! It is right here in Eureka Springs Arkansas.

Smith also created a biblical museum to store his collection. You have to see this place to believe it. Not only are there religious paintings dating back to 1800’s and 1700’s, but there were actual bibles, many printed or even hand written in Latin, dating back to 1512. The collection of artifacts here is simply stunning.

Finally, Smith completed an outdoor amphitheater seating over 4,000. Beginning in 1968, he staged the Great Passion Play in this massive outdoor theater to crowds from around the world. Since 1968, nearly 8 million people have attended the performance in Eureka Springs making it the largest attended outdoor drama in America.

While we hadn’t planned on it, after visiting the grounds and learning that the play would be performed during our stay, we decided to attend. The sheer scale of the spectacle steals your breath away. There are hundreds of players, sheep, camels and chariots, and an entire depiction of that part of Rome where Christ lived out his last few days. The costumes were spectacular as well.

At the end of the play when Jesus rolled back the stone from the tomb and ascended to join his father, you could have heard a pin drop in the amphitheater. As we stared in awe, I realized that Jesus in the play was the same gentleman we had seen earlier in the day walking on the Sea of Galilee.

We will try to take in more Eureka Springs highlights after a bit of a break.

Talk to you soon!