For hundreds of years, Osage and Cherokee Indians knew of the healing waters that sprang from the rocks in the dark reaches of the Ozark Mountains. Around 1828, pioneers from Tennessee pushed west and began to settle in the area that would eventually be named Eureka Springs. Captured here in almost 200 vintage images are the growth and development of this tiny town and the story of a closely held secret that cured the ill. Dr. Alvah Jackson discovered the healing power of the spring's water when his application of the waters surging from the ground cured his son's chronic eye problem. Word spread, and people began to come in droves. The area was incorporated in 1879 and named Eureka Springs, meaning "I found it." Featured here are the residents, buildings, and events that shaped the tiny hamlet in the mountains, including the Crescent Hotel, the Carnegie Library, decades of visitors to the springs, and the local heroes of the First National Bank Robbery of 1922.

How did the unfettered wilderness of the Ozarks, America's early frontier, evolve into a highly sought after health retreat, and finally settle into a beloved historic tourist destination? Eureka Springs was founded for the healing properties of the naturally soothing waters. That special sense of place has always informed the town's history. Yet a conventional, chronological history from pre-founding to present day Eureka Springs has never been written, until now. Respected local historian June Westphal and her colleague Kate Cooper, tell the whole story of Eureka Springs, bringing their years in the Eureka Springs and Ozark historical community, along with a remarkable passion for telling the story of their hometown.

Nestled within the beautiful hills of the Ozarks, there is an Arkansas town unlike any other. Eureka Springs has a lively and colorful past, peppered by one-of-a-kind characters drawn to the town for its soothing waters. And while Eureka Springs is known today as one of the most well-preserved towns in the nation, some of its most interesting history hides in plain sight. Join local author Joyce Zeller as she uncovers the remarkable and often forgotten history of this natural wonder of the Ozarks. With tales of the 1922 bank robbery, the residency of notorious prohibitionist Carry A. Nation and how a beloved cat named Morris became "general manager" at the historic Crescent Hotel, this is a side of the Eureka Springs story that won't be found anywhere else.

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