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.
For recreation, we have the Harmon Playgrounds, equipped with playground 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.