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Discover Mid-America — June 2005

Blue Spring continues its legacy and mystery

Every 24 hours, thirty-eight million gallons of the purest water in the region pour out of Blue Spring. Located about six miles west of Eureka Springs, AR, the healing spring has captivated generations. But what may be found at its churning depths could intrigue generations to come.

Archeological digs on the property have uncovered animal bones, potsherds and arrow points dating back to 8,000 B.C., causing scientists to rethink Native American origins. Other tribes used the spring in the 1700s and early 1800s, trading canoes and other goods to white settlers, who then paddled their pelts, bear oil and beeswax to New Orleans by way of the White River. The traders called their Native American partners “Strongboat Indians.”

It is said that warring tribes would call a truce if they met at the spring, revering it as a sacred site. The Cherokees, driven from their homeland in the eastern U.S. in 1839, stopped at Blue Spring for a week’s rest during the “Trail of Tears” forced march to Oklahoma.

Entrepreneurs sought to make use of the spring. In 1872, a sawmill was built, using timber from the area’s virgin pine forest. In 1902, a man piped water from Blue Spring into glass-lined rail cars for customers in the Southwest, but the business soon failed. A year later, a saw, grist and flourmill three stories high was built and served the community until the 1920s. This mill was torn down in1943 but the turbine remains and can be seen today. A final attempt at bottling the spring water was made in 1908, but the company was sold in 1910.

Blue Spring became a tourist attraction in 1946. The 33 acres surrounding it became Eureka Springs Gardens in 1993.

Johnice Cross, director of the Blue Spring Heritage Center, is a fifth generation Eureka Springs native. Her family helped make the center what it is today. Her great-grandfather, former congressman Claude A. Fuller, was secretary of the Eureka Blue Spring Water Company in 1910. He bought the property in 1921 at auction.

“My grandmother, Ruth Fuller Cross, now 96, remembers having picnics at the spring as a child,” Cross said. “My father, John Fuller Cross, worked as a guide on the White River before Beaver Dam was built. As a youngster, he ran his grandfather’s cattle on the property.”

The family owns several restored buildings in Eureka Springs. Cross sold both of her businesses in 2003 to become full-time director of the Blue Springs Heritage Center, as it is known today.

The 33 acres, owned by the Cross Family Trust, include a Woodland Garden, Rock Garden, Medicine Wheel Garden, Azalea Terrace, Waterwheel, picnic area and other attractions. The Indian Bluff Shelter, now on the National Historic Register, can be explored, along with the old mill site. A short film about the spring’s history is shown at the visitor center, where old photos and artifacts are on display.

“Blue Spring history is unique and separate from that of Eureka Springs,” Cross said. “We have planned many events with the American Indian community, as well as workshops. Our family is committed to honoring the spring, and making this an open and available attraction.”

The newest development at Blue Spring is an underwater exploration of the spring’s mouth, a 3-foot-wide crevice that spirals down more than 500 feet. The bottom has never been found.

A not-for-profit organization, Aquatic Cave Xploration, along with T.L. Bass Telepictures, has made dives since last year, the deepest to 95 feet. Many artifacts have been discovered along with cave-dwelling crayfish.

“Who, knows, we may uncover a cave system feeding Blue Spring that’s larger than anyone can imagine,” Cross said. “The mouth of the spring has been a source of intrigue for years.”

A documentary film about the exploration is being produced. It will include the history of Blue Spring and the Eureka Springs area.

For information about visiting Blue Spring Heritage Center, call 479-253-9244 or go to

www.bluespringheritage.com.

Discover Mid-America founder and Senior Contributing Editor Ken Weyand files regular reports on notable Midwest destinations. He can be reached at kweyand@gbronline.com.

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