The new Eureka Springs

As I was checking in at the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks in Eureka Springs, I picked up copies of the Lovely County Citizen and the Eureka Springs Independent to read in the room. I’ve long been fascinated by the brand of politics practiced in this small town (population 2,073 in the 2010 census) where the top industry has always been tourism. It’s the most gay-friendly community in Arkansas. It’s a place where buses from evangelical Christian churches show up to watch The Great Passion Play. It’s a town that traditionally has attracted artists, writers and aging hippies. It’s an interesting and sometimes volatile mix.

In his remarks at the annual meeting of the Arkansas Press Association, Mayor Butch Berry noted that people in Eureka Springs probably take freedom of speech more seriously than the residents of other Arkansas cities. I wasn’t disappointed that evening when I began reading the newspapers.

The lead headline in the Independent was “Community Center Foundation tells council to back off.” It was the news story below the fold, however, that touched on an issue that will have far greater implications on Eureka Springs’ future. The headline on that story read “Leatherwood downhill trails open.”

The Eureka Springs Parks and Recreation Commission entered into a cooperative agreement with the Walton Family Foundation to build downhill mountain biking trails near Lake Leatherwood. The foundation awarded two grants totaling more than $900,000 for the trails. Construction began last November. Tom and Steuart Walton have worked in recent years to transform Arkansas into the cycling hub of the South, and their efforts are now attracting cyclists from across the country. Lake Leatherwood is considered one of the best spots in North America for what are known as gravity-driven courses.

Lake Leatherwood City Park covers 1,610 acres and already had more than 25 miles of hiking and biking trails that surround a spring-fed lake. Many of the park’s facilities were constructed during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The city allowed the park to languish for a time, but major improvements occurred once business and civic leaders came to the realization that outdoor recreation will be a huge part of Eureka Springs’ future.

“This type of riding experience is becoming increasingly popular across the country,” said Justin Huss, the city’s parks director. “We have an elevation change in our park that is well suited for this. Because of that elevation change, it’s also an area of the park that isn’t suited for most other uses. … With multiple downhill courses, it should become something that’s unmatched in a large geographic area.”

Eureka Springs was founded in 1879 when Levi Best Saunders of Berryville built a house and also made the springs more accessible. A general store soon followed. A four-story hotel known as the Perry House was constructed in 1881, and Eureka Springs began to take off as a resort. The coming of the railroad in 1883 led to even more growth. Despite large fires in 1883, 1888, 1890 and 1893, the resort continued to prosper. Former Gov. Powell Clayton founded the Eureka Springs Improvement Co., which opened the Crescent Hotel in 1886. It was considered the finest hotel in the region. The equally ornate Basin Park Hotel opened in 1905. The Crescent and Basin Park continue to operate.

“Tourism began to slow as visitors stopped believing in the curative powers of the springs,” Bethany May writes in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. “The railroads moved their shops to Harrison, depriving Eureka Springs of many jobs. An expected boom to be prompted by oil wells in northern Arkansas fizzled when little available petroleum was found.”

Beginning in the late 1960s, The Great Passion Play and its related attractions helped offset the business that had been lost when interest in the springs waned. Additional motels and restaurants were built along U.S. 62.

As one drives west from Berryville into Eureka Springs these days, the sight of empty motels, service stations, restaurants and tourist attractions make it abundantly clear that The Great Passion Play’s heyday is over. An Oklahoma-based network of gospel radio stations rescued the outdoor drama from foreclosure in 2013. Visitor numbers are far below what they once were, though, and improvements have been few. It’s like stepping back into the 1970s when entering museums on the grounds.

Eureka Springs continues to be a delightful place for those of us who love history and architecture. That tends to be an older audience. To attract young, affluent visitors, the city must now focus on outdoor activities—everything from mountain biking to floating the Kings River to fly fishing the White River.

As I drove to Lake Leatherwood on a Saturday afternoon after the Arkansas Press Association meeting had concluded, I noticed rock climbers getting out of their cars at a motel. At the entrance to the new mountain biking trails, the license plates were from Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska in addition to Arkansas. There were kayakers on Lake Leatherwood. I then drove to Beaver Lake. There were dozens of boats on the water, and its swimming beach was crowded. These outdoor enthusiasts are the future of Eureka Springs. One thing that’s already in place is a lively culinary and music scene, something that’s important to these younger visitors.