Why Eureka Springs:
Eureka Springs, an hour east of Bentonville, is one of the region’s top tourist destinations. It is often considered the cutest town in all of Arkansas. After spending two days in Bentonville with Joe, Alyse, Thea (age 6) and Emmy (age 2), we decided to take a day trip east.
August 31, 2024: Eureka Springs
Joe, Alyse, Thea, Emmy and I set out from Bentonville at 9:00. Quickly after leaving, we entered the Ozarks, a hilly region covering northern Arkansas and southern Missouri (mountains are a bit of a stretch but the highest peak is 2,561 feet high). The road became quite curvy as we wound through the hills. While we could not see it as obviously, the culture also shifted: the Ozarks have a unique culture and accents that is most like Appalachia.
Eventually, we reached the outskirts of Eureka Springs. Our first stop was the Thorncrown Chapel, a magnificent church built in 1980. Inspired by Sainte-Chappelle and Frank Lloyd Wright, the chapel has a multitude of windows and a striking diagonal beams which reminded the architect of Jesus’s crown of thorns. Thea was originally uninterested in the building until I showed here a video of it built in Minecraft, her favorite game.
We then drove into the town center, which is nestled in a ravine. The town is full of Victorian-era buildings. In fact, the entire center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I really have not seen such a complete historic town in this part of the country.
After finding parking (by a miracle), we started at the history museum. During the Civil War, Dr. Alvah Jackson treated both Union and Confederate soldiers using local spring water and miraculously it worked. After the war, Dr. Jackson marketed the spring water to people from around the area. One of those people was Judge J.B. Saunders who claimed that the water cured his disease. Saunders then promoted the water which led to the creation of the town in 1880.
The population boomed and quickly turned into a health destination. The city’s growth was also boosted by the coming of the railroad. By 1889, it was the second largest city in Arkansas. The Ozarka Water Company, one of the largest brands in the southern US was founded in Eureka Springs.
Eventually people realized that the waters were not special but because the town was so cute, tourism remained. Two (very different) groups are attracted to Eureka Springs: liberal hippie types (including LGBT) and religious Christians (which I will get into later).
Eureka Springs is also a center of music. They have a functioning opera company (that is about to get a beautiful new opera house courtesy of the Walton family aka Walmart) and the country’s oldest folk music festival is held here every summer. The museum had an instrument called a John Harp which is a harp made from a toilet seat. This might be the most redneck thing I have ever seen.
Walking down the streets, we saw many tacky and old timey shops but with a redneck edge. We saw taxidermies upon taxidermies, knife shops, far too many t shirts joking about defending daughters from potential suitors with guns, and even an old timey photo booth that performs (most) marriages. A couple was actually getting married when I walked by and later on, I saw them on the street.
My favorite shop was a magic shop. It’s nice that businesses like this can stay in business with the tourist traffic.
For lunch, we stopped in a restaurant called the Mud Street Café, a nickname for Main Street before it was paved. The restaurant was located underground in a stone cellar. The food was good, but I found it funny that they needed to explain hummus (“an intriguing spicy spread from the Middle East”).
We then stopped by at the iconic Crescent Hotel. Built in 1886, the Crescent is known to be the most haunted hotel in the country. Haunted or not, the hotel is beautiful and there is a stellar view from the roof deck on the fourth floor.
Our final stop in town was The Great Passion Play grounds. Early/mid 20th century preacher Gerald L.K. Smith (a far-right Christian Nationalist, antisemite, white supremacist, and 1944 candidate for US President) retired from his ministry and moved to Eureka Springs. In 1964,he built a religious theme park on his property. The park was never completed but aspects of it were. This included a fake Jesus-era Jerusalem filled with “historic reenactors”. He also has a Bible museum featuring 6,000 bibles.
He also built a gigantic statue of Jesus that looks like a smaller and worse-made version of Rio’s Christ the Redeemer. This is the largest Christ statue on the continent.
However, the most important and culturally relevant attraction is the Great Passion Play, a full-on reenactment of the death and resurrection of Jesus featuring 150 actors and live animals. The play, which is performed in its own 4,000 seat arena is a tourist draw for conservative Christians from all around the US and the world. Over 8 million people have seen the play.
On the way back to Bentonville, we stopped at the Pea Ridge National Military Park, a Civil War battlefield and National Park Service Site. The battle took place early in the war and was a Union victory, mostly due to the hubris of the Confederate general.
With that, we headed back to Bentonville for a birthday party.
Final Thoughts:
Eureka Springs is rightfully one of the best small towns in America. It is incredibly cute and there is so much to do: wandering main street, music/culture, history, hiking and various Christian sites: the Thorncrown Chapel and the Passion Play grounds. For those who like Victorian architecture, this is a treasure trove. Compared to Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas, Eureka Springs really feels like you are deep in the country…The Sticks if you will.
While I enjoyed spending a day here and felt like I saw almost everything, I would recommend spending at least one night because the best restaurants are only open for dinner, you can stay in a heritage property and you can watch one of the many cultural performances.
Eureka Springs can also be used as a base to explore deeper in the Ozarks – Arkansas has some spectacular hiking especially to the south and southeast. Nearby other areas to explore include the Buffalo National River and Branson in Missouri.
While open to all, Eureka Springs is very much geared towards families and those with children.
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