The Round House

The Round House. . , The Round House stands on land first claimed by timber entrepreneur William Evans. By 1884, this land was subdivided into building lots as the new city of Eureka Springs boomed. William and Mahala Evans and their partners David and Precious Bays sold the land in 1886 to Interstate Gas Company, which in six months sold to Eureka Springs Gas Light Company, one of General Powell Clayton's enterprises. On this land, the pilaster base was built to hold a round metal tank containing coal gas (methane) for lighting the streets and homes of the city., This large circular structure first appears on street maps about 1892, identified as a "gas holder". In 1904, a limestone structure forty four feet in diameter was built to replace the metal tank. It was then used as a warehouse for bottled spring water sold under the trade name "Ozarka"., William Duncan succeeded General Clayton as owner of all the holdings of Eureka Springs Improvement Company, including this property, which was part of "the Magnetic Forty", later titled "Magnetic Springs Addition”., Richard R. Thompson, successor to Duncan, operated the Ozarka Water Company for more than half a century, bottling water from Bay's and Ozarka Springs as well as shipping in glass-lined railroad tank cars until the railroad ceased operations about 1965., After Ozarka ceased operations here the building was used for various purposes through the years, including apartments, an art gallery, a restaurant and nightclub. It was totally renovated with an additional story added in 2002.