Eureka Springs

Today I spent several hours exploring Eureka Springs , the closest “town” to Beaver Lake. Today Eureka Springs is a quirky fun tourist town. Part of the charm is that there are literally no cross streets. Built on steep mountainsides and deep ravines, Eureka Springs architecture and layout is uniquely adapted to the extreme natural landscape. The town sits on a hill, really multiple hills. The only way for pedestrians to move between streets are the multiple staircases. A vehicle is reduced to winding around the multiple hairpins.

The history of Eureka springs intersects with the history of this general region which has been discussed in previous posts. The region encompassed the ancestral lands of the historic Osage Nation, and bands of Delaware and Shawnee peoples also lived in the area before the Trail of Tears. The legends of a great healing natural spring (Basin Spring) harken back to the First Americans, who are thought to have considered the spring sacred. After European Americans arrived, they also believed the waters to have magical healing powers. Of course, that entailed commercialization of the waters and the town. By the late 19th century, Eureka Springs had expanded to become a flourishing city, spa and tourist destination. The waters would gain national acclaim with the beginning of Ozarka Bottling Company which continues today.

Isolation and affordable land values attracted various counterculture elements in the 1960s and 1970s, a vibe which continues to the present day. The accepting environment fostered a network of gay and lesbian business owners, and the town became known as a resort town for LGBT tourism. During the AIDS crisis, community members formed the Ozark AIDS Resources and Service to distribute mutual aid and care. Eureka Springs became the first city in Arkansas to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

I first wandered into The Town Shop , owed by David and Marjorie. They have a beautiful selection of arts and crafts, many by local artists. I had a lovely chat with David, who was behind the counter this morning,

Next I found Thomas at The Wild Boar Axe House . This establishment caters to axe throwing and sponsors competitions. I did not know such a thing existed, but here it was, in Eureka Springs. Again, we had a nice conversation and Thomas gave me a demonstration of axe throwing - see the video below.

After a brief stop at Magic City Crystals (I can’t seem to pass up a gem store), I found the elusive Arkansas State shot glass at a gift shop, then headed over to Brews for coffee and some lunch. I neglected to write down the names of my two great servers (apologies!), in part because I got distracted by meeting Buckaroo Lennox. He swears this is his given name. Buckaroo was interested in my journey because he undertook a similar trip himself some years ago, only with a video camera. He continues to travel around the U.S., documenting his journeys. It turns out that he is a true celebrity, with a book on Amazon (The Blood and the Heartland: An Exploration into the Bonds of Love and the Unfathomable Power of Denial ) and a listing on IMBD . Buckaroo is originally from California (most recently Sonoma) and shared that he moved to Eureka Springs to escape the craziness. He explained that it was no accident that I found Brews as it is pretty much the living room for Eureka Springs residents. Indeed, that was the feeling I got immediately with the quirky furnishings and walls of local art. I have already purchased his book and look forward to reading it.