lobby of the Crescent Hotel, is a reminder that comfort is an
outstanding feature in a hotel. In this "Castle in the Air High Atop the
Ozarks" we find comfort combined with convenience in a big way. This
magnificent hostelry requires but little introduction to people familiar
with Summer Resorts. It stands on a high point overlooking Eureka
Springs and the view from the Lookout, a-top the hotel, is one of the
finest in the Ozarks. The Crescent is a five story stone, fire-proof
building with twenty-seven acres of grounds. It represents an investment
of over $300,000 in 1884-1886 and would cost three or four times that
amount to build it today. It has large rooms, wide verandas, and sun
parlors and can easily accommodate two hundred and fifty guests. It is
equipped with swimming pool, tennis courts, shuffle board, horseshoe
courts, bowling alley, pool and billiard tables, recreational rooms, and
provides scenic bus trips, horseback riding, hay-rides, barbecues,
wiener roasts, and dancing for the entertainment of guests. The food
served in the dining room has been famous for more than half a century.
The Crescent is popular with both convention groups and the general
public.
The Crescent Hotel was erected by the Eureka Improvement Company in
1884-1886. The board of directors was composed of Powell Clayton, R. C.
Kerens, C. W. Rogers, Logan H. Roots, John O'Day, James Dunn, B. Baker
and D. A. Nichols. Powell Clayton was president of the company, Logan H.
Roots, treasurer and H. Foote, secretary. Isaac S. Taylor was the
architect. It had its grand opening May 1, 1886. In 1902 when the Frisco
Railroad took it over it was remodeled with Guy Crandall Morimer as
architect.
Some of the board of directors of the Crescent Hotel Company were
stockholders in the Frisco Railroad and it was probably through their
influence that the Frisco leased the hotel in 1902 for a period of five
years. One of the conditions of the lease was that at least $50,000 be
spent on furnishings and improvements. This was done and the hotel was
widely advertised by the railroad company.
During the first twenty-two years of its existence, the Crescent was
operated as a year-round hotel but in 1908 the Crescent College for
girls was organized and the building became a school from September
until June and continued as a hotel during the three summer months. A.
S. Maddox was the first president of the college. R. R. (Dick) Thompson
became president in 1910 and continued in this capacity until the middle
twenties. The institution was then taken over by Claude Fuller, Albert
Ingalls and W. T. Patterson and operated for a few years. A. Q. Burns
became president of the college in 1929 and served for three or four
years. The college was closed permanently in 1933.
In 1936 the property was sold to Norman Baker who turned it into a
hospital. This institution lasted about two years and when it folded up
the building remained vacant until 1946. In the spring of that year it
was bought by four Chicago men--John R. Constantine, Herbert E. Shutter,
Herbert A. Byfield, and Dwight Nichols. It was reopened July 4, 1946
with Mr. Nichols as manager.
The Crescent Hotel now specializes in "package tours" from Chicago and
other cities and remains open from April 1 to December 1. It is again
associated with the Frisco Railroad for most of the guests come to
Monett, Missouri by train and are transported by Crescent buses through
the scenic hills to Eureka Springs. The regular "package" tour is of six
days duration and provides room, meals and entertainment.
We wonder why this hotel was named "The Crescent." The word, crescent,
refers to the shape of the increasing or new moon when it is receding
from the sun. It is often used as an emblem of progress and success. The
symbol was popular in heraldry and was used by at least three orders of
knighthood, first instituted by Charles I of Naples and Sicily in 1268;
the second instituted at Angiers by Rene of Anjou in 1464; the third
instituted by Selim, Sultan of Turkey in 1801 in honor of Lord Nelson.
It is both a religious and military emblem of the Ottoman Turks. In
architecture, the word refers to a range of buildings in the form of a
crescent or half-moon. Some of the stone work of the Crescent Hotel is
in the form of a crescent and this may have given the building its name.
Personally, we like to think of it as an emblem of progress and success
in the hotel world.
XXX
HOTEL HISTORY
Eureka Springs entertains 150,000 or more tourists annually and it has
need of numerous hotels, motels and courts to provide adequate housing
for these guests. During its seventy-five years as a resort, it has had
more than 100 establishments of this class. One of the first of these
hotels was the St. Charles on North Main Street, opened by Powell
Clayton in 1882. It was first called the Clayton House. The Grand
Central was opened in 1883. Two years (1884-1886) were spent in building
the Crescent which opened May 1, 1886. The Palace opened in May, 1901.
The Wadsworth was dedicated February 14, 1902. The name was changed to
The Allred a few years later. In 1949 it was purchased by Cecil Maberry
and renamed The Springs. In August, 1954, it was purchased by Gale
Reeves and many improvements made. The Basin Park Hotel was opened for
guests May 5, 1905 and had its "grand opening" July 1. The site was
formerly occupied by the Perry House, which was destroyed in the big
fire of 1888. The building that housed the Lansing Hotel (Carthage
House) still stand on Center Street. The Landaker is another of the
older hotels now used as an apartment house. The Southern, just south of
the Basin Circle, was destroyed by fire in 1935. The Thach, popular with
Texans, was destroyed by fire in 1932. The Belden at Lion Spring was
once a popular hotel.
Other hotels and boarding houses that once served the public, are: The
Antlers, Barretts, Baker House, Crim House, Calef, Calohan, Corrs,
Callender, Chautauqua, Crescent Cottage, Dieu, Davey, Drains, Dell Mont,
Glenwood, Gable, Guffey's, The Gables, Holman, Hancock, Harvey House,
Hodges, Illinois, Josephine, Kimberlings, Lindell, Lawrence, Main,
Mountain Home, Maplewood, Magnetic, New National, New St. Louis,
Phoenix, Piedmont, Pickards, Pence, Reynolds, Sweet Spring, Sweet
Springs Home, Sweet Spring Flats, Silver, Swankey, Sawyer, St. Louis,
Tulsa, Tweely's, Valley, Vestal Cottage, White Elephant, Wards, Williams
Cottage, Washington and Waverly.
Eureka Springs visitors now have choice of hotels (European or American
plan) or motels and motor courts. A big percentage of our tourists
patronize the motels and courts of which there are twenty or more in
Eureka Springs and vicinity. They range all the way from comfortable
modern cabins to deluxe motels and resorts which are the last word in
comfort and convenience. Most of them are conveniently located on U. S.
Highway 62.
XXXI
"BACKWOODS BARON"
In my opinion, the man most closely associated with Eureka Springs in a
business and political way during the past half century is the Hon.
Claude A. Fuller. He has always had the interests of his hometown at
heart and his leadership is outstanding. Born in Springhill, Illinois
January 20, 1876, he came westward with his parents when a young lad
and, at the age of fifteen, settled at Eureka Springs. His first job was
with pick and shovel at Sanitarium Lake, now Lake Lucerne. When the
street car line was constructed from the Auditorium (now Harmon
Playgrounds) to the Basin Spring, he was employed as waterboy. He
carried all the spikes that coupled the rails. Upon completion of the
line he became mule driver, then conductor. Later he was the attorney
for the road.
Claude attended the Eureka Springs High School and graduated in the
class of 1896. He decided upon law as his profession, attended the Kent
Law School at Chicago and was admitted to the bar in 1898. On December
25, 1899, he married Miss May Obenshain, his hometown sweetheart. The
Fullers have had three children; a son who died in infancy, and two
daughters, Ruth Marie (Mrs. John S. Cross), and Dorothy M. (Mrs. Pat
Mathews). They have five grandchildren.
Mr. Fuller began his official career as city clerk at Eureka Springs in
1898 and served four years. He was then elected state representative for
Carroll County and served from 1902 to 1906. In 1907, he was elected
mayor of Eureka Springs by a handsome majority. He served in this
capacity until 1910, and again from 1920 until 1928. During his terms of
office many improvements were made in the city such as the building of
the municipal auditorium, the extending of the dam at the city
reservoir, the erection of filter basins, and the extension of water and
sewer mains. He served four years as prosecuting attorney (1910-1914).
During all these years, Mr. Fuller was ambitious to represent his
district in Congress. He tried in 1914, but was defeated by a small
margin. In 1928 he was successful and served ten years as Congressman.
He was a member of the Ways and Means Committee which is one of the
powerful committees of the House. Through his efforts Lake Leatherwood
was built as a government project. In 1938 he returned to his private
practice of law at Eureka Springs and has kept his office open ever
since. He is one of the best known attorneys in Arkansas.
Claude A. Fuller's rise in the business world was rapid. He was a good
trader and knew how to invest his money. He and his brother purchased
the Eureka Springs Railway which they held for one year and sold for a
profit of $10,000. In 1925, he purchased the Crescent Hotel which he
held for four years and sold. In 1926 he became owner of the Basin Park
Hotel but sold it when he went to Congress. In the banking business, he
became president of the Bank of Eureka Springs, a position he still
holds. His pet project is his ranch on White River where he raises
thorobred white face cattle. Mr. Fuller is a member of the Baptist
Church, belongs to the Elks Fraternity, and is an active Rotarian.
In 1951, Frank L. Beals published a biography of Claude Fuller entitled,
"Backwood's Baron." Mr. Beals said: "In Claude's realistic approach to
life, the law, and politics go hand in hand. He never aspired to purify
any of the three, he just took them as he found them and bent them to
his own purposes. He never swam against the current, he floated with it,
taking advantage of the flotsam and jetsam that were going his way to
make secure his own passage."
Mr. Fuller has received many honors during his long, eventful life. One
that he is especially proud of is the Distinguished Citizenship Award
presented to him by the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce on March 31,
1951, in recognition of his efficient service as a director of the
organization. The award is signed by the Awards Committee: Harry Wilk,
Dwight O. Nichols, Joe A. Morris, Paul Smart, Cecil Maberry and Richard
Thompson.
At the end of the book, "Backwood's Baron," Mr. Beals says: "Oliver
Wendell Holmes (Jr.) in a radio address on his ninetieth birthday, might
well have been speaking of Claude Albert Fuller when he said:
'The riders in a race do not stop short when they reach the goal. There
is a little finishing canter before coming to a standstill. There is
time to hear the kind voice of friends and to say to one's self, 'Thy
work is done.' But just as one says that, the answer comes: 'The race is
over, but the work never is done while the power to work remains.' The
canter that brings you to a standstill need not be only coming to rest.
It cannot be, while you still live. For to live is to function. That is
all there is in living.'"
XXXII
WRITERS AND ARTISTS' MECCA
Eureka Springs probably has more writers than any other town of its size
in the nation. Since World War II an astonishing number of books have
been authored by residents of the "Stair-Step-Town." Some of these
writers have been producing novels, short stories, feature articles and
poetry for a quarter of a century; others have appeared only recently on
the literary horizon.
Vance Randolph, Ozark folklorist, is the author of fifteen major books
and hundreds of pamphlets and feature articles. His books on the Ozarks,
as listed in "Who's Who in America," are "The Ozarks: An American
Survival of Primitive Society" (1931); "Ozark Mountain Folks" (1932);
"From an Ozark Holler" (1933); "Ozark Outdoors" (1934); "The Camp on
Wildcat Creek" (1934); "The Camp-Meeting Murders" (with Nancy Clemons)
(1936); "An Ozark Anthology" (1940); "Ozark Folksongs" in four volumes
(1946-50); "Ozark Superstitions" (1947); "We Always Lie to Strangers"
(1951); "Who Blowed Up the Churchhouse" (1952); "Down in the Holler: A
Gallery of Ozark Folk Speech" (1935).
Glenn Ward Dresbach is recognized as one of America's leading poets. He
has produced a number of books and contributed to leading national
magazines for a number of years. His latest book: "Collected Poems,
1912-1948," was published in 1950. Beverley Githens (Mrs. Glenn Ward
Dresbach) writes both poetry and prose. Her "No Splendor Perishes" won
the Dierkes Poetry award in 1946.
Major Frank L. Beals is author of "The Ancient Name" (1937); "Look Away
Dixieland," a novel (1937); The American Adventure Series of books
(1941-45); "Boswell in Chicago" (1946); The Famous Story Series
(1946-50); "Backwoods Baron" (1951).
Marge Lyon has produced four books on Arkansas and the Ozarks. They are:
"Take to the Hills" (1942); "And the Green Grass Grows All Round"
(1943); "Fresh from the Hills" (1945); "Hurrah for Arkansas" (1947). Her
"And So to Bedlam" (1944) is set in Chicago. Mrs. Lyon has a column
entitled "Marge of Sunrise Mountain Farm" in the Sunday Chicago Tribune.
Everett and Olga Webber, a husband and wife writer-team, have authored
two novels: "Rampart Street" (1948) and "Bound Girl" (1949). "Rampart
Street" sold more than a million copies in all editions. The Webbers
contribute short stories to a number of magazines, including the
Saturday Evening Post. We expect a new book from them soon.
Frances Donovan, retired school teacher from Chicago, writes on
sociological subjects. Her books are: "The Sales Lady" (1929); "The
School Ma'am" (1938) and "The Woman Who Waits." At the present time she
is working on a sociological study of Eureka Springs.
Cora Pinkley Call is author of "Pioneer Tales of Eureka Springs" (1930);
"Shifting Sands" (1943); "The Dream Garden" (1944); "From My Ozark
Cupboard" (1950); "Eureka Springs: Stair-Step Town" (1952). Mrs. Call is
president of the Ozark Artists and Writers Guild.
Constance Wagner is a short story writer and novelist. Her latest novel,
"Sycamore," came from the press in 1950. Dr. Bonnie Lela Crump writes
feature stories and has published a number of booklets. Morris Hull
specializes on confession and human interest stories and contributes to
the leading magazines in this field. He is the author of the novel,
"Cannery Annie," published several years ago. Bill Dierkes of the
Dierkes Press is author of three books of poetry: "Gold Nuggets,"
(1928); "The Man from Vermont," (1935); and "Emerge with the Swallow,"
(1944).
I began writing about the Ozarks in 1925 and have written and published
about one million words on the history and folklore of the region. My
books, to date, are: "An Ozarker Looks at Life," (1927); "Dream Dust,"
(1924); "Roadside Chats," (1939); and "Ozark Country" of the American
Folkways Series (1941). Most of my writing has been for magazines and
newspapers and for my own Ozarkian publications: "Ozark Life,"
(1925-30), "Arcadian Magazine," (1931-32), "Arcadian Life Magazine,"
(1933-42), and "Rayburn's Ozark Guide," (1942 to the present time).
In addition to the authors who have produced books, there are a score or
more of writers in Eureka Springs who write for magazines and
newspapers. Some of them are professionals, others write for their own
pleasure. If all the stories, articles and poems produced in this town
were assembled into books and placed alongside the volumes already
published, it would make a sizeable library. Not many communities can
boast of such a literary output.
Eureka Springs has been a mecca for artists for many years. Several
years ago, Louis and Elsie Freund bought Hatchet Hall, the old home of
Carry A. Nation, and made it into an art center. For several years they
conducted a summer art school. Other Eureka Springs artists, whose works
I have observed are: William Farnum, Fred Swedlun, Glenn Swedlun, Lester
M. Exley, W. F. Von Telligan, Mr. and Mrs. L. V. Orsinger, Verne
Stanley, Virginia Tyler, Art Foster and Bonnie Lela Crump. I am sure
there are others who deserve mention but I have not seen their work.
Most of the above are professional artists who work with oils and water
colors. Some do pen sketches. Thousands of paintings and drawings have
been made of the scenery and quaintness of Eureka Springs during its
seventy-five years of history. If all of these creative products could
be placed on exhibition at one time it would make a row of pictures
miles long.
XXXIII
THE OLD AND THE NEW
Time marches on and not many of the men and women of the pioneer
eighties are with us today. Among those who are native born or who came
in their youth when the town was a booming spa are: Mrs. Annie House,
Jim Bradley, Mrs. Fred West, Mrs. Wilma Jarrett Ellis, Mrs. C. A.
Fuller, Mrs. Louis Haneke, Mrs. May S. Miller, Mrs. Chrystal Lyle,
Wallace McQuerry, Otis McGinnis, Joe Hoskins, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Porch,
Sam Riley, E. A. Jordan, Tom Walker, Walter Burris, T. L. Hawley, Mrs.
Claude Pike, Charlie Perry, Mrs. Maud Woodruff, Frank Pickard, Mrs.
Alice Campbell, Mrs. Lida Mae Roberts, and perhaps a few others. Most of
these older residents now live in retirement, but a few are active in
business.
Early in the twentieth century we find F. O. Butt on the stage of action
as a practicing attorney. Mr. Butt served his district as senator in the
state legislature, was mayor of Eureka Springs for two terms and
newspaper editor for a number of years. He is still on the job as a
practicing attorney.
R. R. (Dick) Thompson came to Eureka Springs in 1908 as a teacher in
Crescent College and later became president of the institution. In the
middle twenties he established his Lake Lucerne Resort and the Ozarka
Water Company and now devotes his time to the management of these two
concerns.
Claude A. Fuller began practicing law in 1898 and has been closely
connected with the business interests of the town since that date. Mrs.
Annie House, "the oldest newspaper woman in Arkansas," came to Eureka
Springs as a child in 1880. Sam A. Leath, our guide and historian, has
had an active part in civic affairs since 1898. He has been connected
with the Chamber of Commerce for many years. Jim Bradley, Joe Porch and
Tom Walker are all old-timers who continue in business.
It would take many pages to list all the men and women, now dead or
moved away, who contributed to the building of the town. I name only a
few whom I have special reason to remember--Charley Stehm, Major J. W.
True, Claude Pike, Harvey Fuller, Floyd Walker, W. N. Duncan, Dr. C. E.
Davis, B. J. Rosewater, Dr. C. F. Ellis, Prof. C. S. Barnett, W. O.
Perkins, Col. C. D. James, Mrs. Adelaide Wayland, Albert G. Ingalls, A.
Q. Burns, William Kappen, H. T. Pendergrass, Dr. J. S. Porch, A. L.
Hess, Major W. E. Penn, Earl Newport, Louie Webber, Louie Haneke, Eaton
Cole, Dr. J. F. John, Dr. J. H. Webb, Dr. Charles Bergstresser, Dr.
Pearl Tateman, Arch Kimberling, George Hardy, Harry Wickham, Lucien
Gray, B. L. Rosser, Miss Nellie Mills, Mrs. Ida Wilhelm, A. J. Fortner,
Mr. and Mrs. George Hurt, Dr. J. H. Huntington, Herman and Hugo Seidel,
L. E. Lines, John Jennings, Dr. R. G. Floyd and M. M. Chandler. This
list is very inadequate but, as stated above, it includes only those
that I have special reason to remember. In the books written on Eureka
Springs by Nellie Mills and Cora Pinkley Call will be found more
complete lists of the old residents.
It took World War II to start an influx of homeseekers toward the
Ozarks. This invasion came as an aftermath of the war and Eureka Springs
received its share. At the opportune time, Marge Lyon and her genial
husband, Robert ("the jedge"), moved into the community and Marge began
telling the story of Eureka Springs and the Ozarks to a vast audience of
readers with her column, "Marge of Sunrise Mountain Farm" in the Chicago
Tribune. Marge was influential in starting thousands of people in quest
of the fuller life of the countryside. Retirement people flocked to
Eureka Springs to buy homes; others came to go into business. By 1950,
Eureka Springs had been given the nickname, "Little Chicago," because of
the large number of people from that area.
The town of Eureka Springs owes Marge Lyon a vast debt of gratitude. Her
lucid lines have lured thousands of visitors to the hills, many of whom
came to stay and are now happily located far from the city's noise and
confusion. They have helped balance the town's economy and have added to
the culture and social life of the community.
In 1946, I located Ozark Guide magazine at Eureka Springs and have given
the community a national journalistic voice that has an influence in
bringing both tourists and homeseekers. Eureka Springs is the only Ozark
town having an Ozark magazine with national spread. It lays the magic
carpet for exit from the confusion of the city to the land of Ozark
enchantment.
The assimilation of the newcomers into the social and economic life of
the town has been successful. The ratio of newcomers to natives is now
about fifty-fifty. It is almost impossible to tell an old-timer from a
newcomer. The melting pot is doing its work.
* * * * * * * *
Eureka Springs is one of the two cities in Arkansas having a commission
form of government. The other city is Fort Smith. In 1918, this system
was adopted for our town. It provides for a commission of three persons,
one of whom is selected to act as mayor. The present commission is
composed of Mayor A. J. Russell, Ray Freeman and Col. C. C. King. Mr.
Russell has been mayor for fourteen years.
Eureka Springs is a city of churches with the following denominations:
Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Christian, Assembly of God Nazarene,
Episcopalian, Christian Science and Catholic. The Presbyterians have the
oldest church building. It was built in 1886 following the completion of
the Crescent Hotel. The same stone masons built both buildings.
The school system of the city is one of the best in the South. A modern
building was erected in 1951 and it is the last word in convenience.
Both the elementary and high schools have "A" ratings.
Eureka Springs has a full quota of civic, fraternal and patriotic
organizations such as: the Masons, Elks, I.O.O.F., Rotarians, Lions,
American Legion, Chamber of Commerce, Tourist Council, Woman's Club,
Music Club, Ozark Artists and Writers Guild, home demonstration clubs,
and others. The American Legion hut is one of the finest in the state.
The social life of the community is enriched with many cultural and
recreational activities throughout the year.
We have a modern post office building with Cecil Walker as postmaster.
Carroll County is one of the nine or ten counties of Arkansas that have
two county seats. It has courthouses both at Berryville and Eureka
Springs. Our courthouse is secondary but represents the western district
of the county and has offices for both county and city officials, a
court room, and a jail which is vacant most of the time.
Modern comforts and conveniences make Eureka Springs a pleasant place to
live. Electricity is supplied at reasonable rates by the Southwestern
Gas and Electric Company. Natural gas was installed in the late forties
by the Arkansas Western Gas Company. This fuel is both convenient and
inexpensive and a great asset to the town. The municipal water supply is
adequate for any emergency. The city lake is fed by sixteen springs, and
a deep well, dug recently. Bonds were voted a year or two ago for the
rebuilding of the city's sewer system and the disposal plant. Most of
the streets of the city are paved. Telephones are available for both
business and home use.