The numerous stairways of wood and stone, connecting street levels, have given rise to the name, “Stairstep Town.” Cora Pinkley Call used this title for her book on Eureka Springs, published in 1953. Some of the leading stairways are: Jacob’s Ladder, Sweet Springs, Magnetic Spring Skyway, and the “upway” from Spring Street to Eureka Street. Jacob’s Ladder is a series of wooden steps up East Mountain from the Main Street level to the Skydoor residential district on the mountain side. Rest stops are provided along the way in the form of seats where the old may rest and the young, perchance, do a little courting. The Sweet Spring steps are of stone and they lead from the spring, through the tree tops, to the terminus of two streets three hundred yards above. The Magnetic Spring stairway is at the junction of Main street with Magnetic Drive, reaching up to Hillside (Depot Grade). These steps are now covered with moss and seldom used. It was once a popular walk-way from the Sanitarium on the hill to Magnetic Spring. The winding “up way” from the foot of Mountain Street at the Baptist Church is a short cut to a private home called Mount Air. Taking this stairway reminds us of the tourist who asked a native Ozarker if he was on the right road to Springfield. “Well, not exactly,” he replied, “This road just moseys along for a spell, then it turns into a pig trail, then a squirrel track, and finally runs up a tree and ends in a knot-hole.” If you take this stairway and path to the upper street, turn to the left and follow the path around the mountain, you end up at the rear entrance to the fourth floor of the Basin Park Hotel. [Illustration: Airplane View of the City] XVIII THE STREET CAR SYSTEM Eureka Springs at one time had the most unique street car system in the nation. It began as a mule car line in 1891, but was electrified seven years later. It remained in operation until 1923 when it was crowded out by jalopies which invaded the town. The streets were not wide enough to accommodate both the street car and the Model T. The total length of the line was about three miles, but the two terminals of the main line were only half a mile apart. The entire system was a single track with three passing switches. The track was standard gauge and placed near the curb at one side of the street, as the streets were too narrow for center tracks. John T. Brown, writing in “Trolley Sparks,” says that the Citizens Railway Company of Eureka Springs had a total of twelve cars, five of which were closed cars operated by one man, six two-man open cars, and one work-car which was also used as a party car. Except for two of the cars, all were originally mule-drawn cars purchased second hand from Houston, Texas. These cars were motorized with second hand electrical equipment purchased from the Detroit Street Railways. In 1904, two new summer cars were obtained from the St. Louis Car Company.