Innkeepers, John and Julie Van Woy invite you to experience Eureka Springs' best kept secret.
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Eureka Springs wedding
| The Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding)
area had a reputation as a tourist destination well before the first
pioneers reached Arkansas. Several Native American legends tell of a Great
Healing Spring in the Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding)
area. This reputation continued as Europeans arrived on the scene and the waters of the springs gained a reputation of having magical powers. Within a short time Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) was transformed into a flourishing city, spa, and tourist destination. Dr. Alvah Jackson first located the spring and claimed that the waters of Basin Spring had cured his eye ailments in 1856. Dr. Jackson established a hospital in a local cave during the American Civil War and used the waters from Basin Spring to treat his patients. After the war Jackson marketed the spring waters as "Dr. Jackson's Eye Water". The Ozarka Water Company was later formed in Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding). In 1879 Judge J.B. Saunders, a friend of Jackson, claimed that his crippling disease was cured by the spring waters. Saunders started promoting Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) to friends and family members across the State and created a boomtown. Within a period of one year the city had transformed itself from a rural spa village to a major city of 10,000 people. On 14 February 1880 Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) was incorporated as a city. Thousands of visitors came to the springs based on Saunders promotion and covered the area with tents and shanties. Late in 1881 the town reached a population of 10,000. In 1881 Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) enjoyed the status of Arkansas's fourth largest city. After his term as a reconstruction Governor, Powell Clayton moved to heavily unionist Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) and began promoting the city and its commercial interests. Clayton promoted the town as a retirement community for the wealthy and Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) soon became known for gracious living and a wealthy lifestyle. In 1882 the Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) Improvement Company was formed to attract a railroad to the city. Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) soon established itself as one of the premier vacation resorts of the Victorian era. The town experienced a construction boom and thousands of homes and commercial enterprises were constructed in only two years. These Victorian buildings still exist and are responsible for the entire town of Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) being placed on the National Register of Historic Places. At the turn of the 20th century the fortunes of Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) began to decline. The national focus on science and technology lessened the attractiveness of Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) and its "magical waters". The Great Depression hit the town hard with many buildings deteriorating or being torn down for materials. As the century progressed the town gained popularity as a retreat for artists, writers, and intellectuals who were seeking a simple and less expensive nostalgic lifestyle. Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) maintains its reputation as a safe haven for artists and other creative people. Christ of the OzarksIn 1964 controversial Minister Gerald L. K. Smith began construction of a planned religious theme park at Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding). The park was never fully developed as originally planned. In 1966 the centerpiece of Smith's plan, the Christ of the Ozarks Statue, was completed overlooking the town on Magnetic Mountain at an elevation of 1500 feet. The sculptor, Emmet Sullivan was one of the sculptors of Mount Rushmore. Smith also planned for a life-size recreation of ancient Jerusalem in the hills near Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) and did create the east gate of the recreated city. The Elna M. Smith Foundation still resides on the site and maintains a Bible Museum and continues to slowly work on the Jerusalem recreation. In recent years the popularity of Branson, Missouri, has both increased the number of tourists arriving in Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) but has also impeded on the town's old world charm. The influx of guests has also led to increased commercial activity. Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) has a unique eclectic mix of people and lifestyles. The city is proud of its reputation as a safe haven for artists and intellectuals. It was home to WPA-era muralist Louis Freund (one of his murals may still be viewed at the Banl of Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding)), jeweler Elsa Freund (named one of the foremost jewely designers of the 1950's), novelist Constance Wagner, painter Tommy Thomas, and many others. Later, culinary writer and children's book author Crescent Dragonwagon, dubbed by USA Today "the most interesting person in Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding)", made her home there for 33 years. With her late husband Ned Shank, she co-founded both the first bed-and-breakfast inn in the town, Dairy Hollow House, and later the non-profit Writer's Colony at Dairy Hollow. Visitors to Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) can expect to see hippies, artists, bikers, local residents, preachers, a highly visible gay and lesbian population and UFO enthusiasts all pursuing their divergent interests in the same place. They might well run into the town's former mayor, Richard Schoeninger, who caused a stir by posing nude in the Arkansas Timesin 1984. Eureka Springs (contact us about your Eureka Springs wedding) is the home to a large number of unique events. The town is a very popular destination for motorcyclists from around the world and plays host to annual motorcycle rallies and meets. Each year the town hosts several auto shows featuring different automobile styles. |
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Eureka Your Hosts, John and Julie Van Woy 800-738-9545
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