Eureka Springs in Carroll County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)
A Timeless Place
Upper Spring
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., April 9, 2012
1. A Timeless Place Marker
Inscription.
A Timeless Place. Upper Spring. , The buildings, the bluffs, the spring and The Boulevard all make this a special place in Eureka Springs which has kept a peaceful beauty of earlier times.
The front of the McLaughlin Block has changed little since it was built in 1900 to house a very modern grocery and meat market. Stone to construct the building was blasted out of the bluff and cut on-site. Congress Spring flows behind the building. An early writer describes the store: "The grocery store was as clean, polished and sanitary as any drug store I ever saw. In those days there was not a fresh meat counter in every grocery store. Homer kept his hams, bacon and lard and bulky vegetables in a back room... which was a cavelike passage into the bluff, winding and widening until it furnished ample space for keeping butter and anything in his stock that required a low temperature."
Before the library was built, there was an elegant gazebo marking the Spring Street entrance to the Crescent Hotel with a long stairway leading up. The stone gazebo stairway remains to create a grand entrance to the library. (The East Mountain Lookout is a replica of this gazebo.)
The Carnegie Public Library was completed in 1912 -- one of two remaining Arkansas libraries built with funds from Andrew J. Carnegie Foundation. The library still has its early charm and visitors are welcome inside. This view with the library in the middle shows a good example of the layering of buildings on the hillsides in Eureka Springs. Rising above are St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church and the Crescent Hotel.
This corner is still as charming as when it was "improved" in the late 1880s. The spring gazebo was built in 1885 to replace a simpler one which burned. Landscaping, benches, street lights and sidewalks were also installed then to create a lovely promenade. The current-day Eureka Spring Preservation Society has restored historic street lamps to many of the springs.
In The Neighborhood , First Presbyterian Church: Built in 1886 from donated stone left after the construction of the Crescent Hotel. The current congregation recently restored the unusual steeple.
Powell Clayton: He and his family lived next door. Former governor, senator and Union general, Clayton was one of Eureka Springs' most influential citizens. He was leader of the Eureka Improvement Company who brought in the railroad, built the Crescent Hotel and most of the infrastructure to make this town a fashionable spa resort in the 1890s.
The Boulevard: This was the name of Spring Street past Crescent Spring. It is lined with fine homes and cottages which abut the bluff on the west side and drop several stories below on the east. A short walk around the corner is a nod to prehistoric times, a Styracosaurus albertensis from local attraction, Dinosaur World, whose founder once lived in this house.
Trail: Note the steps for a walking path up to St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church (open for viewing) and the Crescent Hotel (also open to the public with a fine overlook on the fourth floor.)
Landmarks [Map and Key]
This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, a Preserve America grant. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior. Photographs courtesy of the Cornerstone Bank of Eureka Springs, Eureka Springs Historical Museum and the Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library.
The buildings, the bluffs, the spring and The Boulevard all make this a special place in Eureka Springs which has kept a peaceful beauty of earlier times.
The front of the McLaughlin Block has changed little since it was built in 1900 to house a very modern grocery and meat market. Stone to construct the building was blasted out of the bluff and cut on-site. Congress Spring flows behind the building. An early writer describes the store: "The grocery store was as clean, polished and sanitary as any drug store I ever saw. In those days there was not a fresh meat counter in every grocery store. Homer kept his hams, bacon and lard and bulky vegetables in a back room... which was a cavelike passage into the bluff, winding and widening until it furnished ample space for keeping butter and anything in his stock that required a low temperature."
Before the library was built, there was an elegant gazebo marking the Spring Street entrance to the Crescent Hotel with a long stairway leading up. The stone gazebo stairway remains to create a grand entrance to the library. (The East Mountain Lookout is a replica of this gazebo.)
The Carnegie Public Library was completed in 1912 -- one of two remaining Arkansas libraries built with funds from Andrew J. Carnegie Foundation. The library still has its early charm and visitors
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are welcome inside. This view with the library in the middle shows a good example of the layering of buildings on the hillsides in Eureka Springs. Rising above are St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church and the Crescent Hotel.
This corner is still as charming as when it was "improved" in the late 1880s. The spring gazebo was built in 1885 to replace a simpler one which burned. Landscaping, benches, street lights and sidewalks were also installed then to create a lovely promenade. The current-day Eureka Spring Preservation Society has restored historic street lamps to many of the springs.
In The Neighborhood
First Presbyterian Church: Built in 1886 from donated stone left after the construction of the Crescent Hotel. The current congregation recently restored the unusual steeple.
Powell Clayton: He and his family lived next door. Former governor, senator and Union general, Clayton was one of Eureka Springs' most influential citizens. He was leader of the Eureka Improvement Company who brought in the railroad, built the Crescent Hotel and most of the infrastructure to make this town a fashionable spa resort in the 1890s.
The Boulevard: This was the name of Spring Street past Crescent Spring. It is lined with fine homes and cottages which abut the bluff on the west side and drop several stories below on the east. A short walk around the corner is
Photographed By Unknown, circa early1900s
2. McLaughlin Block Photo on A Timeless Place Marker
a nod to prehistoric times, a Styracosaurus albertensis from local attraction, Dinosaur World, whose founder once lived in this house.
Trail: Note the steps for a walking path up to St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church (open for viewing) and the Crescent Hotel (also open to the public with a fine overlook on the fourth floor.)
Landmarks [Map and Key]
This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, a Preserve America grant. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior. Photographs courtesy of the Cornerstone Bank of Eureka Springs, Eureka Springs Historical Museum and the Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library.
Location. 36° 24.447′ N, 93° 44.197′ W. Marker is in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in Carroll County. Marker is on Spring Street
Photographed By Unknown, early1900s
3. Photo on A Timeless Place Marker
Showing Carnegie Library, St. Elizabeth's Church, and the Crescent Hotel
west of Hillside Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 194 Spring Street, Eureka Springs AR 72632, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Also see . . . Eureka Springs History. City website homepage (Submitted on January 5, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., April 9, 2012
4. A Timeless Place Marker at Carnegie Library
Credits. This page was last revised on June 18, 2022. It was originally submitted on January 5, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 547 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 5, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
