The Eureka Springs Story

by Otto Ernest Rayburn

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.”