Eureka Springs had a mild boom at the close of the war. Home-seekers poured in, bought homes, entered into business or went into retirement. A number of motels and other business enterprises were built and a community began a new epoch as a resort. The population increased from a depression low of about 1,700 to around 3,000 in 1954, counting the suburban areas. Civic improvements included paving the streets, the voting of bonds for revamping the sewer system, the sinking of a deep well to secure an adequate water supply, and the erection of an ultra modern public school building. Several of the churches of the town have repaired their buildings, or built new additions, and improved their facilities. Business buildings have been enlarged and improved and many new homes built. The tourist season now opens in April and continues until November with a few winter visitors. It is estimated that about 150,000 tourists visit Eureka Springs during the year. Some make only brief stops, others stay two or three weeks for rest and recreation. Eureka Springs has become a popular retirement city and the people of this class add substantially to the town’s economy, but the bulk of the revenue is from the tourist trade. Since this business is seasonable, a few small industries are needed to provide pay rolls and help balance the economy. Writers, artists and craftsmen find this the ideal location for their activities. Eureka Springs has had its ups and downs through the years with a leveling off toward normalcy since the mild boom following the war. With Table Rock Dam on White River assured, and Beaver Dam farther up the stream a possibility, the outlook for the future is bright. The town will continue as a combined health and pleasure resort, an art and retirement center, a literary mecca, and a haven for hobbiests. It is developing a festival atmosphere which has the earmarks of permanency. [Illustration: Modern public school building erected at Eureka Springs in 1951.] XXVI THE STORY OF BLUE SPRING I came, I saw, I concurred that Blue Spring is one of Mother Nature’s miracles. It was a quarter of a century ago when I first visited this lovely spot, located seven miles northwest of Eureka Springs. Since that time I have been a frequent visitor to this liquid giant from the unknown. Blue Spring is the outlet of a subterranean river with a constant flow of about 38,000,000 gallons of pure water daily. It rises straight up from its mysterious bed, forming a circle about seventy feet in diameter. The depth is unknown. Soundings have been made, once in the nineties, the old-timers say, with strong bed cord attached to a 125 pound anvil, and again near the turn of the century by a party of engineers who let a 16 pound hammer down 512 feet. Neither weight reached bottom. The pressure of the water was sufficient to defy penetration into the blue depths.