The Belladonna

Leaf Burning

by shdw100

In this area of the country, you are still allowed to burn your fall leaves. Most areas of the cities in the US require you to bag the leaves, not burn them. I love the smell of burning leaves with the chill of the fall air! What could be better!

Need a cup of Java & check your emails?

by Kiisu about Roscoes Music & Internet Espresso Bar

Coffee houses come & go in this town, & Roscoe was a regular customer every morning. When the last one (the Frisky Goat) closed up, Roscoe finally decided to open up his own! Come here for a cup of java, a pastry, check your emails, and chat about guitars, motorcycles, or what's happening in town. There's a small deck in the back where locals get together for jam sessions - I think the "scheduled" jam is currently Friday afternoons, but that could change. His hours are approx. 7am til 2pm. There are other places in town to get coffee, but this is where the locals "in the know" go to get their caffeine fix!

Thorncrown Chapel

by deecat

aIn 1978, a retired school teacher named Jim Reed asked architect E. Fay Jones to design a place of worship for people who came to Eureka Springs. Jones created a masterpiece, a 48-foot tall wooden and glass chapel with 425 windows. It's beauty takes your breath away.

Two years later, in 1980, the chapel was opened to the public, and since then, over 5 million people have visited this sanctuary in the woods. I'm pleased to know that it has won many architectual awards, and the American Institute of Architects placed the Thorncrown Chapel 4th on its list of the top buildings of the 20th Century!

In 1989, the Thorncrown Worship Center was opened. It was also designed by E. Fay Jones, and it stands as "a sister building to Thorncrown Chapel." It has a 50 foot window and seats over 300 people. That's why so many people use it for weddings.

It is really impressive at night when you see reflections of the crosses in the chapel lights surrounding the building.

It was hard for me to conceive that there are over 6,00 square feet of glass! How appropriate that it sits atop over 100 tons of native stone and colored flagstone. Although it appears so majestic, it is really a very simple design. Because it is located in a spot where you have a marvelous view of the lovely Ozark hills, you somehow [or at least I did] feel closer to God.

Thorncrown Chapel is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is FREE, but donations are accepted. There's plenty of parking. It's located on Highway 62 West, 3 miles outside of Eureka Springs.

I hope that if you decide to visit Thorncrown Chapel, you will be as inspired by its architecture, simplicity, and beauty as I was. I think you will also relish the added bonus of the natural beauty of the Ozark vista.

Steam RAilroad-ES & NA

by BruceDunning

This is on Main Street about 1 mile out of town. It has many old cars and engines there. Rides are 10-4 daily and cost is $12 for the 4 1/2 miles, or dinner trip is $36-38 and leaves at 5PM. This is the line that brought people to the springs since 1883. The trains are vintage from 1890's and the locomotive pulling the cars is from 1940. Runs are every 1 1/2 hours.

frankcanfly's new Eureka Springs Page

by frankcanfly

A great little historic town placed in a valley in NW Arkansas, Eureka Springs reminds me a little of Harper's Ferry, West Virginia

HISTORY

The first white settler to "discover" the healing springs is reputed to be Dr. Alvah Jackson, who used the healing waters to cure his son of an eye ailment in 1856. The waters were used at "Dr. Jackson's Cave Hospital" to care for combatants during the Civil War and, following the war, Dr. Jackson set up a brisk business selling "Dr. Jackson's Eye Water."

Eureka's miraculous cures remained a local marvel until 1879 when the doctor's friend and hunting companion Judge J.B. Saunders was cured of a crippling disease by a visit to Basin Spring, and subsequently put his considerable influence behind promoting the Springs to friends and family throughout the state.

The City of Eureka Springs was founded and named on July 4, 1879. By late 1879, the estimated population of Eureka Springs reached 10,000 people and in 1881, the town was declared a "City of the First Class," the fourth largest city in Arkansas.

The Eureka Springs Improvement Company was formed in 1882 to bring the railroad to the city and to develop amenities to service the growing visitor population. Thousands of residences and commercial structures were built in two short years. These structures still exist today--so rigorously preserved that the entire town of Eureka Springs is on the National Register of Historic Places.

In the Spring of 2001, Eureka Springs was named one of 12 "Distinctive Destinations" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.