Guided Tour Highlights Homes, Historical Figures

Eureka Springs is getting pretty good at letting people from the past tell their own stories — in person. Following in the steps of its popular October fundraiser “Voices From Eureka’s Silent City,” the Eureka Springs Historical Museum hosts a different guided walking tour on Saturday featuring costumed actors portraying significant figures in Eureka’s history.

The third annual Fourth of July Birthday Stroll takes visitors on a path among historic homes, a former hospital site and other noteworthy landmarks, where they will interact with figures from the time.

“[They do] a portrayal of their life and talk about things that happened during the time they lived in Eureka,” museum operations manager Stephanie Stodden says of both the “Voices” event and the Birthday Stroll. “The Stroll is similar in that aspect, but instead of by the gravestone, characters are by a home they lived in or a place they worked. They’re talking about the history of the house and the neighborhood.”

The volunteer actors all perform from scripts written by Debbie Quigley Smith and Chris Ritthaler that tie together the city’s history and individual stories. Stodden mentions the care and consideration everyone involved gives to the event and suggests the best way to get the most out of it is to try your best to be in the moment.

“It’s a really neat neighborhood. I mean, I grew up there, but still it’s a great neighborhood. Sometimes we get distracted by things around us. Just really listen, and focus, and absorb what the character is telling you and how they’re speaking. Because, I just speak for myself, I get distracted and I look all over and I don’t listen. So just focus and then maybe go back afterwards and go through the neighborhood again and really look.”

Stodden suggests comfortable walking shoes for the uneven sidewalks and steep inclines on the tour path.

Courtesy Photo The Eureka Springs Historical Museum celebrates “the birth of Eureka Springs” with a guided walking tour on July 4. Though the city was not incorporated until Feb. 14, the city was “born” July 4, 1879, Stephanie Stodden says.