Indian Legends and Victorian Bath Houses: The History of Eureka Springs
Today the Arkansas resort town of Eureka Springs is a quaint, faux-Victorian tourist trap with an abundance of Bible-themed attractions. But the knickknack shops and family-friendly dinner theaters are really a natural outgrowth of a long history as a vacation destination reaching back to the Native Americans.
Eureka Springs has, unsurprisingly, several naturally occurring, mineral-rich springs, which have long been thought to be possessed of healing powers. In 1856 European settler called Dr. Alvah Jackson took the Indian legends at their word at used some of the water from Eurekas springs to treat an unspecified eye ailment suffered by his son. The ailment healed and his sons recovery was duly attributed to the spring-water. This led to the founding of Dr. Jacksons Cave Hospital, where many young men were treated with Eurekas spring water during the American Civil War, and the subsequent Dr. Jacksons Eye Water business post-bellum.
In 1879 Judge J.B. Saunders, a friend of Dr. Jacksons, visited the Basin Spring in Eureka, where he was allegedly cured of some type of degenerative...