equipment and stage, and lights for night use. It has a playground
supervisor during the summer months. The city auditorium seats about
1200 people and is the town's amusement center for shows, concerts and
festivals. The Basin Circle Park is equipped with seats and has a stage
for concerts and other entertainments. The New Basin Theatre, owned and
operated by Cecil Maberry, is air conditioned and has a change of
program three times a week. The American Legion sponsors square dancing
at the city auditorium on Saturday nights. Throughout the week there is
dancing at the Basin Park and Crescent hotels. Other recreation features
of the community are: swimming at Lake Lucerne, Lake Leatherwood, the
Camp Joy pool, and Kings and White rivers; fishing and boating at Lake
Leatherwood and the rivers; White River float trips; golf at Lake
Lucerne; horseback riding, scenic motor drives, and hiking. Places of
interest to tourists include: Onyx Cave, Inspiration Point, The Castle,
Blue Spring, Quigley's Castle, Pivot Rock and Natural Bridge, the Ozark
Museum, Hatchet Hall, Birdhaven, the Bracken Doll Museum, the Old Rock
House, the springs (63 of them), the Basin Circle Park, Harmon
Playgrounds, St. Elizabeth Church, the views from East Mountain and the
top of the Crescent Hotel, the Narrows, Beaver, White River, Kings
River, Hog Scald, Penitentiary Hollow and Revilo Ranch.
Eureka Springs has two bath houses and a modern hospital. It has two
printing plants, one of which publishes the Eureka Springs Times-Echo
and prints Rayburn's Ozark Guide. The volunteer fire department has a
new truck and modern equipment, and the city police force is adequate
for local needs. The town has modern motels and cafes, most of which
remain open through the year. Outstanding antique and gift shops are
located here. Practically all lines of mercantile business and services
are represented at Eureka Springs. We have one bank, four lawyers, three
doctors, one optometrist and one undertaker.
In 1948, Eureka Springs had its first Ozark Folk Festival, directed by
Robert Serviss. Mr. Serviss got the backing of a number of local
business men and formed the Folk Festival Association. Serviss directed
the festival again in 1949. During the next two years, the late Harry
Wilk, who was president of the Chamber of Commerce, and Ned Bailey,
secretary of the organization, put on the festival and extended it from
three days to a full week. In 1952, the Festival Association was
incorporated and Grover Roark elected president. I directed the
festivals in 1952, 1953 and 1954. In 1954 people from twenty-seven
states attended this event. The festival, held in mid-October, has
developed into an immense jamboree and attracts thousands of visitors.
XXXIV
UNUSUAL ENTERPRISES
One of the treasured thoroughfares of Old Eureka Springs was the foot
bridge which spanned the canyon at the rear of the stone building, now
the Sweet Spring Apartments. The south terminus of this unusual
structure was at the rear of Jim Black's shoe shop. It was a short cut
to the business section on Spring Street in the vicinity of Sweet,
Harding and Crescent Springs. The original Sweet Spring was in the
hollow at the rear of the post office to the left of the bridge. This
spring was tapped higher up on the bluff when Spring Street was laid
out.
Another unusual structure was the "Bridge Studio" built by Sam A. Leath
and Steele Kennedy in 1931. The site of this covered bridge, built for
artists and writers, was at the tourist court owned by these two
men--Camp Leath, now Mount Air. It was built across a ravine at the rear
of the court and was a little more than 100 feet in length. Leath and
Kennedy were the sole builders of this structure and their methods stand
unique in the annals of engineering. The two ends of the bridge were
built alternately, section by section, coming together in the center.
After building one end, the opposite position was accurately located by
Kennedy with a small bore rifle. A board was held by Leath at the north
end of the bridge, indicating where the top deck at that point would be.
Kennedy placed the shot at the exact point desired. The trueness of the
shot was later proved with a level when the two approaches were closed
with the central span.
The "Bridge Studio" was built for the artists and writers of the Ozarks.
The lower deck had five compartments fitted with chairs, tables and
lights. The doors were never locked.
A large crowd attended the dedication of the "Bridge Studio" on May 3,
1931. Dr. Charles H. Brough, World War I governor of Arkansas, was the
speaker. The story of the unique bridge and its idealistic purpose was
told in newspapers throughout the land. But it was a dream that soon
faded. When Sam Leath sold his court in the middle thirties and became
manager of the Chamber of Commerce at Harrison, the "Bridge Studio" was
torn down.
A unique business enterprise in the early days at Eureka Springs was the
C. H. McLaughlin grocery, said to be one of the cleanest, best equipped
and best arranged groceries in the United States. Mr. McLaughlin built
"a better mouse trap" and the world made a beaten path to his door.
Another interesting project, located four miles north of Eureka Springs,
was Elk Ranch, operated by Gen. Geo. W. Russ and the Riverside Land and
Livestock Company from 1902 to about 1917. This ranch contained about
1,500 acres and the principal enterprise was the breeding of blooded
horses. It received its name from the herd of elk that had the run of
the ranch. This herd numbered about 130 at one time.
A recent project, built by Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Quigley on their farm four
miles south of Eureka Springs is "Quigley's Castle." It has been called
the Ozarks' strangest dwelling. It is a large stone house with the outer
walls covered with great flat stones set on edge and held together with
cement. These walls are covered with small, colorful picture rocks and
fossils which Mrs. Quigley picked up over a period of years. She
engineered the building of the house and placed the rocks in position.
These walls are a geological treasury.
The inside of Quigley's Castle is a botanical garden and family home.
The light enters through eight large picture windows. The rooms are
built independent of the outer walls with the first floor three feet
from the ground and a four foot space between wall and room. In this
space grow many varieties of both tropical and Ozark plants such as
rubber trees, rose bushes, oleanders and a banana tree. Some of these
plants grow to a height of twenty-five feet, extending almost to the
roof. The second floor has a waist-high railing built around the rooms
to prevent stepping off into space. Small bridges permit passage across
the chasm at points of entry.
The iron dog which once stood on the pedestal in the Basin Circle where
the soldier monument now stands is a missing link in the Eureka Springs
story. Photographs made from about 1907 to the early thirties show this
dog. According to the old timers, this iron monster, which weighed 400
pounds, once belonged to a family named Squires and was an ornament in
the yard of their home on the hillside at the rear of the Basin Park
Hotel. One Halloween night about 1907 the boys moved the iron dog to the
park and set it on the pedestal. In bringing it down the path back of
the hotel they broke off its tail. The city authorities let it remain on
the pedestal until in the thirties, when it disappeared and the soldier
monument took its place. No one seems to know what became of the dog,
but it is reported that it may be seen in the yard of a home at
Springfield, Missouri.
Old-timers will remember "Old Chapultepec," the cannon which was
captured by United States troops during the battle of Chapultepec in the
Mexican War and brought to Eureka Springs by General Powell Clayton when
he located here in the early 1880's. In 1933 J. Rosewater had an article
on this old relic in an Arkansas newspaper. Quote:
"In the yard of the Missouri and North Arkansas railway at Eureka
Springs, the wood in its once sturdy wheels so decayed they provide a
very wobbly support, stands a muzzle-loading cannon, so old that few in
this community know its history, or how it came to be in the depot yard.
"Old-timers said the cannon was called 'Old Chapultepec,' and that it
was captured by United States troops during the war with Mexico at the
battle of Chapultepec in 1847. It saw service during the Civil war and
was left at Little Rock, where Gen. Powell Clayton, Reconstruction
governor of Arkansas after the Civil war, obtained it and brought it to
Eureka Springs in 1882, while making his home here after he ceased to be
governor.
"For years it was displayed at public places in the city and at one time
stood on the lawn of the Crescent Hotel. General Clayton gave it to the
city and it was moved to the depot, Clayton being interested in the
Missouri and North Arkansas railway, which was known then as the St.
Louis and Eureka Springs railway and terminated at Eureka Springs.
Several years later a group known as the Civic Improvement Association
built an inclosure and a pedestal for the cannon.
"The cannon stands on a carriage about 3½ feet high. The barrel is
almost five feet long and about six inches in diameter at the muzzle.
Near the breech is a small touch hole where powder was used to fire the
piece. The cannon can be moved up or down on the carriage, but to aim it
right or left it is necessary to turn the carriage. Apparently the gun
was fired in the general direction of the enemy during battle.
"Eureka Springs citizens used to pull it to a mountain top and fire it
on July 4 or to celebrate some political victory, but this custom has
long since ceased."
"Old Chapultepec" was sacrificed for scrap metal during World War II and
at the close of the war the government sent the city a captured German
howitzer which was placed in the Basin Circle where it now stands.
One of the highly prized memorials of our "Stair-Step-Town" is the
Kerens Chapel and the St. Elizabeth's Church which is widely known as
"the church entered through the steeple." This is misleading as the
entry is through a detached belfry and then down a stone corridor and
steps to the chapel and church. The chapel was built as a family
memorial in 1907 by Richard Kerens, a St. Louis capitalist, who was one
of the owners of the Crescent Hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Kerens and their
children, Vincent, Richard, Jr., and Gladys, spent three or four months
of each year at the Crescent. Mr. Kerens' mother sometimes accompanied
them.
One day Mr. Kerens and his mother were on the promenade at the south end
of the hotel talking. As they talked a boy approached Mr. Kerens with a
telegram. It was a notification from Washington that he had been
appointed ambassador to Austria. He immediately packed his bags and took
a carriage to the railroad station. As the vehicle crossed the spot
where the chapel now stands he waved good-by to his mother who was
standing on the promenade. That was the last time he saw her for she
died while he was abroad.
When Mr. Kerens returned to this country he began making plans for a
memorial to his parents. He wanted it located on the exact spot where he
last saw his mother. He secured the land and had the hillside properly
terraced with a thirty foot reinforcement wall. This wall was set eight
feet in the ground and was five feet thick at the base in order to give
it a solid foundation. The foundation of the chapel went down eighteen
feet to make it secure. The structure was dedicated in 1907. Two years
later, Mr. Kerens financed the building of St. Elizabeth's Church
adjacent to the chapel, combining the two buildings. It is one of the
most beautiful little churches in America and is visited by thousands of
tourists each year.
Perhaps the most unusual enterprise in Eureka Springs is the lay-out of
the town itself. Was it built haphazardly or with definite plan? Powell
Clayton and other city fathers probably knew, but they long ago passed
to their rewards. They were inspired men and had great faith in the
future of the fabulous City of Springs.
[Illustration: St. Elizabeth's Church]
XXXV
THE OUTLOOK
We have had a long look at the past and a peep at the present. What of
the future? In my opinion, the outlook for Eureka Springs is good. We
have a problem, but its solution is not impossible if we have faith in
the town as the founders had. The big problem of Eureka Springs is to
operate successfully on a strictly tourist income and meet the
competition of other Ozark resorts. We hear complaints that the season
is too short and the tourist patronage too light. The town was
originally intended as a health resort, based upon the curative
properties of the water from the springs. This slant is now secondary to
recreation. Our chief difficulty is in providing sufficient attractions
to hold tourists more than a day or two. This problem must be solved or
we will gradually fade out of the picture.
The building of two dams on White River, at Table Rock and at Beaver,
will have a great influence on Eureka Springs' economy. These dams will
provide large lakes for recreational purposes. They will be within a few
minutes drive of our city. We now have approximately 150,000 visitors a
year but the average stay is only a day or two. When the lakes are
completed, we should have 500,000 or more tourists a year and they
should remain an average of five or six days. These figures are based on
what has happened at the Lake of the Ozarks and at Norfork and Bull
Shoals. Of course, it will require extensive advertising to meet
competition. Our facilities for housing and entertaining tourists will
have to be enlarged. The population of Eureka Springs should gradually
increase during the next few years. With the most scenic location in the
Ozarks, with flowing springs such as other towns do not have, with
nearness to two lakes with the best of fishing and water sports, it is
not extravagant to visualize the population of Eureka Springs as doubled
within a few years.
Appropriations have been made to start Table Rock Dam and the contract
has been let. Work started on November 2nd and will continue four or
five years. It is estimated that the building of this structure will
boost the region's economy at least $50,000,000. Of course, Branson,
Missouri will profit most for the dam will be located eight miles above
the town, but other communities of the region will benefit also. The
headwaters of the reservoir will reach within a few miles of Eureka
Springs.
Beaver Dam has been approved by both houses of Congress, but
appropriations have not yet been made. If these appropriations are made
next year, work should get started by 1956 and the structure completed
about the same time as Table Rock. The Beaver Dam will be located about
ten miles southwest of Eureka Springs and it will be a big factor in
promoting the growth of the community.
For a balanced economy a resort town needs a few small industries. With
the coming of the lakes it should be possible to locate a few factories
here that will provide substantial pay rolls. These industries should
harmonize with the recreational background. Homecrafts should be
encouraged.
The unofficial reports of the population of Eureka Springs in the 1880's
and 1890's range from 5,000 to 15,000. Old-timers say that the
population peak was reached about the year 1888. The official census
records at the Bureau of Census in Washington do not agree with these
unofficial reports, being considerably less. It is possible that the
unofficial count took in people who lived outside the city limits, or
who were not permanent residents. At any rate, here is the report from
the Bureau of Census:
1880, 3,984--1890, 3,706--1900, 3,572--1910, 3,228--1920, 2,429--1930,
2,276--1940, 1,770--1950, 1,958.
These figures show that the town had its largest official population in
1880, its first year, and gradually decreased, reaching an all-time low
at the end of the depression in 1940. Then an increase began. The city
limits have been extended and a conservative estimate of the population
at this present time is around 2,100. This increase should go to 3,000
by 1960, and to 4,000 by 1970. When the town reaches its Centennial in
1979, it should have a sound economic basis and a population about
double what it is now.
FOONOTES
[1]The Eureka Springs (Eureka Springs, Arkansas, May 15, 1884) Page 5.
[2]Ibid., Page 8.
[3]The Eureka Springs by W. W. Johnson, M. D., Eureka Springs, Arkansas,
1884, pages 6-8.
[4]The Healing Fountain: Eureka Springs, Ark.: A Complete History.
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, 1881, page 4.
[5]Volume 1, pages 163-167.
[6]The Healing Fountain: Eureka Springs, Ark. 1881. Pages 3 and 4.
[7](Eureka Springs, Arkansas) 1952 pp. 18-20.
[8]We acknowledge credit to Mr. Sam A. Leath for the historical data of
this narrative.
[9]The Eureka Springs, (1881), pp. 10-11.
[10]The material for this story was supplied by the late Louis Hanecke,
Sam A. Leath and Steele Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy and others wrote
feature articles about it which appeared in Sunday newspapers a few
years ago.
[11]The Healing Fountain, Eureka Springs (1881), p. 12.
[12]The Healing Fountain: Eureka Springs, Ark. pp. 22-24.
[13]Pp. V-VIII.
[14]Rayburn's Ozark Guide, No. 33, Summer, 1952, p. 31.
[15]The Healing Fountain: Eureka Springs. p. 7.
[16]Life and Adventures of John Gaskins. p. XII.
[17]Rayburn's Ozark Guide, No. 15, Spring, 1947, pp. 7-10.
[18]See my Ozark Country. pp. 283-286.
(Note. The tavern operated by the uncle of the James boys was
located at the spot now occupied by the Phillips 66 station and
grocery on U. S. Highway 62.)
[19](New York), 1952. pp. 42-43.
[20]Compare with the chapter on Hog Scald in my Ozark Country, pp.
244-246.
Transcriber's Notes
--Silently corrected a few palpable typos.
--Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.
--In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Eureka Springs Story, by Otto Ernest Rayburn