The “Bridge Studio” was built for the artists and writers of the Ozarks.
The lower deck had five compartments fitted with chairs, tables and
lights. The doors were never locked.
A large crowd attended the dedication of the “Bridge Studio” on May 3,
1931. Dr. Charles H. Brough, World War I governor of Arkansas, was the
speaker. The story of the unique bridge and its idealistic purpose was
told in newspapers throughout the land. But it was a dream that soon
faded. When Sam Leath sold his court in the middle thirties and became
manager of the Chamber of Commerce at Harrison, the “Bridge Studio” was
torn down.
A unique business enterprise in the early days at Eureka Springs was the
C. H. McLaughlin grocery, said to be one of the cleanest, best equipped
and best arranged groceries in the United States. Mr. McLaughlin built
“a better mouse trap” and the world made a beaten path to his door.
Another interesting project, located four miles north of Eureka Springs,
was Elk Ranch, operated by Gen. Geo. W. Russ and the Riverside Land and
Livestock Company from 1902 to about 1917. This ranch contained about
1,500 acres and the principal enterprise was the breeding of blooded
horses. It received its name from the herd of elk that had the run of
the ranch. This herd numbered about 130 at one time.
A recent project, built by Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Quigley on their farm four
miles south of Eureka Springs is “Quigley’s Castle.” It has been called
the Ozarks’ strangest dwelling. It is a large stone house with the outer
walls covered with great flat stones set on edge and held together with
cement. These walls are covered with small, colorful picture rocks and
fossils which Mrs. Quigley picked up over a period of years. She
engineered the building of the house and placed the rocks in position.
These walls are a geological treasury.
The inside of Quigley’s Castle is a botanical garden and family home.
The light enters through eight large picture windows. The rooms are
built independent of the outer walls with the first floor three feet
from the ground and a four foot space between wall and room. In this
space grow many varieties of both tropical and Ozark plants such as
rubber trees, rose bushes, oleanders and a banana tree. Some of these
plants grow to a height of twenty-five feet, extending almost to the
roof. The second floor has a waist-high railing built around the rooms
to prevent stepping off into space. Small bridges permit passage across
the chasm at points of entry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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