On East Mountain there is water almost everywhere. Some of the best
known springs, each with its individual scenic setting, are: Cave,
Little Saucer, Big Saucer, Little Eureka, Onyx, Carry Nation, Soldier
and Cold. Cave spring, near the home of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Ward
Dresbach, flows a stream of pure cold water from a narrow cave. Little
Eureka has a small stream and never goes dry. This spring is known for
the purity of its waters (5½ grains of solids to the gallon) and many
people swear by it. It is said that Little Eureka water won second place
in a world wide contest at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. Water
from a spring in Switzerland won first.
The Carry A. Nation spring flows from a cave which the crusader used as
an “ice box” during her sojourn in Eureka Springs (1908-11). This cave
has a constant temperature the year ’round and is an ideal natural
refrigerator. In the days preceding artificial refrigeration, the East
Mountain folks made use of Carry’s cave for storing milk, butter and
other perishables. The water from the cave spring has been piped across
the street to Hatchet Hall, which is now a museum and art center, owned
by the artists, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Freund.
Onyx Spring comes from a cave in which onyx was once secured for making
jewelry. It was formerly called Laundry Spring because of its popularity
as a place for washing clothes. A sarvis tree now grows from the rock
directly over the spring.
Soldier Spring is at the entrance of a small cave at the west end of Nut
Street on East Mountain. According to legend, two bushwackers were
killed at the entrance of this cave by federal soldiers during the Civil
War. A bushwacker is an outlawish fellow who hides behind a bush and
takes a “whack” at you with his rifle gun. In this instance, the
soldiers got the first whack and the stream from the cave was named
Soldier Spring. For several years the large oak tree across the road
from the spring was a natural bee tree and a swarm of honey-makers
occupied it each season. Not many modern towns can boost of a bee tree
within the city limits.
In Mill Hollow we have the famous Ozarka Spring, the only Eureka Springs
water that is commercialized. It is shipped in glass or enamel-lined
railway cars to many cities in the mid-west. Ozarka is a liquid treasure
from nature’s vast laboratory. Other springs in the vicinity are Little
Ozarka, Minnehaha with its Indian legend, and the Bancroft Springs.
Magnetic Spring is one of the most popular springs in the city. The
water was once thought to be radio-active and old-timers claimed it
would magnetize a knife blade. It is a popular place for picnickers and
the city has provided a shelter-house with tables, barbecue pit and
other facilities. Magnetic Hollow has other springs such as Mystic,
which flows from a picturesque cliff, and Bell Spring which makes a
musical sound like the tinkling of a bell. An iron and sulphur spring
was once located near the railway depot, but is not now flowing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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