The Pebble that Breaks the Tide
April 23, 2015 11:16 AM Subscribe
Eureka Springs is an improbable place.
Thirty-five miles from blood-red Rogers, on the way to Klansville in Harrison, up mountain roads straight out of Kubrick's "The Shining," the hairpins pitching out over leafy chasms that make you imagine the smashed and undiscovered hulks of Hudsons and Packards secreted somewhere far below, gloveboxes full of field mice and grinning skeletons at the wheel; then, at last, from that white-knuckle highway, down into a deep and shady valley that would have surely been given over to deer and the occasional nutty hermit if not for the Victorians' faith in magic water. The trees open up, and there before you is the original hamlet of Eureka Springs, old hotels and slanting lanes, gingerbread mansions clinging to the rocks like orchids, easily the most liberal small town in the state.
Thirty-five miles from blood-red Rogers, on the way to Klansville in Harrison, up mountain roads straight out of Kubrick's "The Shining," the hairpins pitching out over leafy chasms that make you imagine the smashed and undiscovered hulks of Hudsons and Packards secreted somewhere far below, gloveboxes full of field mice and grinning skeletons at the wheel; then, at last, from that white-knuckle highway, down into a deep and shady valley that would have surely been given over to deer and the occasional nutty hermit if not for the Victorians' faith in magic water. The trees open up, and there before you is the original hamlet of Eureka Springs, old hotels and slanting lanes, gingerbread mansions clinging to the rocks like orchids, easily the most liberal small town in the state.
I guess we have a new answer to the perennial AskMe question: "If I can move anywhere, where should I go?"
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:04 PM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:04 PM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
"This is about freedom," Brandt reportedly told the crowd. "Your freedom and my freedom. If you are not free, I am not free. I say that as a Christian, and I want to protect what that means. The purity of the Christian faith has been hijacked by cowards who hide behind a thin veil of doctrine that contains so many holes. But they don't know that we can see them."
Wow
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:07 PM on April 23, 2015 [5 favorites]
Wow
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:07 PM on April 23, 2015 [5 favorites]
Eureka Springs is basically the best parts of San Francisco (with a touch of New Orleans) put into a mad scientist's shrink ray and re-located to the Ozarks. Beautiful architecture. Tight narrow streets winding around impossibly steep hills. The sort of place which surprises you for years to come. As tiny as the place is, there's still a hidden bluff with a spring, a secret sculpture in the woods, or a dusty shop selling ancient books in strange languages, something you've never seen before even though you've been there for years.
And it has the sort of people who don't really give a fuck about who you are or where you came from, and just accept you for whatever you are. Not just one of the best places in Arkansas, but it's one of the best places in the country.
posted by honestcoyote at 12:16 PM on April 23, 2015 [19 favorites]
And it has the sort of people who don't really give a fuck about who you are or where you came from, and just accept you for whatever you are. Not just one of the best places in Arkansas, but it's one of the best places in the country.
posted by honestcoyote at 12:16 PM on April 23, 2015 [19 favorites]
My inlaws lived in Eureka for several years. It's a lovely place. The problem is if you need anything not currently available in Eureka then your closest option is to drive over the mountains to Bentonville and visit Walmart world headquarters. Branson, MO is also close for all of your country music needs.
posted by hydropsyche at 1:13 PM on April 23, 2015
posted by hydropsyche at 1:13 PM on April 23, 2015
Eureka's a great, welcoming place with a pretty damn good blues festival.
Donald Harrington set his take on Lolita there, and it's quite evocative of the place. Great book.
You will not find a friendlier or more accepting town on this earth. And, hey, there's the giant ugly concrete Jesus statue too, if you like kitsch.
Fantastic writing. Very evocative. This was clearly a labor of love for the writer, who took the time to get the story right.
I'm proud to call David a friend. He's the best and most lyrical damn writer I've ever shaken hands with, and one hell of a bighearted man. I'd have posted his stuff here a half dozen times were it not for the ethical no-no of friendlinking.
posted by middleclasstool at 1:44 PM on April 23, 2015 [7 favorites]
Donald Harrington set his take on Lolita there, and it's quite evocative of the place. Great book.
You will not find a friendlier or more accepting town on this earth. And, hey, there's the giant ugly concrete Jesus statue too, if you like kitsch.
Fantastic writing. Very evocative. This was clearly a labor of love for the writer, who took the time to get the story right.
I'm proud to call David a friend. He's the best and most lyrical damn writer I've ever shaken hands with, and one hell of a bighearted man. I'd have posted his stuff here a half dozen times were it not for the ethical no-no of friendlinking.
posted by middleclasstool at 1:44 PM on April 23, 2015 [7 favorites]
The drive isn't as perilous as described, at least if you're used to driving in the Ozarks or other mountainous areas. I was completely ignorant of what happened down in Fayetteville and kind of surprised it went the way it did. I suppose the Anti-Keep Fayetteville Funky folks are gaining the edge.
As for Eureka Springs, it was always my belief that the almighty dollar generally trumped the so called wishes of the almighty church, hence one of the reasons the locals (who aren't LGBTQ) bit their tongue when the Rainbow Flags most predominantly. I recall on the news in Fayetteville one such weekend with just a reporter only finding one business that planned to shut down in protest of the sin.
It's desperately sad that so much money goes into fighting these types of protections which might have been better served providing food for the poor, medical services to the needy, or you know, pretty much everything Jesus suggested people do to help others.
posted by Atreides at 1:55 PM on April 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
As for Eureka Springs, it was always my belief that the almighty dollar generally trumped the so called wishes of the almighty church, hence one of the reasons the locals (who aren't LGBTQ) bit their tongue when the Rainbow Flags most predominantly. I recall on the news in Fayetteville one such weekend with just a reporter only finding one business that planned to shut down in protest of the sin.
It's desperately sad that so much money goes into fighting these types of protections which might have been better served providing food for the poor, medical services to the needy, or you know, pretty much everything Jesus suggested people do to help others.
posted by Atreides at 1:55 PM on April 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
I've been to Eureka Springs several times, and it's still pretty hard for me to believe that it exists in Arkansas. From what I've gathered from tours in the city, it has a long history of tensions between groups, as it was once a haven for the very rich (specifically The Crescent Hotel was a resort until the Depression bankrupted it), but has also had a large contingent of rural poor.
As hokey as it sounds, I wholeheartedly recommend the ghost tour at The Crescent Hotel in you are ever in town. Ghost nonsense aside, I learned on the tour that the hotel was bought by Norman G. Baker and turned into a "cancer hospital," where desperate families sent their dying loved ones to be treated. Upon arrival, Baker would have the patients sign a large stack of forms, into which he had hidden several pre-written letters home, which the patients unwittingly signed. The patients were then drugged into a stupor until they died, and Baker would continue to send the letters these people had signed before dying back home in order to receive additional funds after their deaths. When the scam was discovered, the only charge that stuck to Baker was mail fraud.
posted by joan cusack the second at 2:21 PM on April 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
As hokey as it sounds, I wholeheartedly recommend the ghost tour at The Crescent Hotel in you are ever in town. Ghost nonsense aside, I learned on the tour that the hotel was bought by Norman G. Baker and turned into a "cancer hospital," where desperate families sent their dying loved ones to be treated. Upon arrival, Baker would have the patients sign a large stack of forms, into which he had hidden several pre-written letters home, which the patients unwittingly signed. The patients were then drugged into a stupor until they died, and Baker would continue to send the letters these people had signed before dying back home in order to receive additional funds after their deaths. When the scam was discovered, the only charge that stuck to Baker was mail fraud.
posted by joan cusack the second at 2:21 PM on April 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
I love seeing the Times linked. Go AT!
I got to take my husband to Eureka Springs two summers ago. We usually go visit my family in Arkansas in the summer, but this time I rented a car and drove him around all the places I spent time during my first 25 years. I have to say, it still surprises me to drive through and see rainbow flags and gay PDA. If the article didn't communicate it adequately, Eureka is, like, teensy. If you're coming from any direction other than from Fayetteville, there are most certainly not any rainbow flags for a good 100 miles, and not even many people. Then you get to Eureka Springs and you're staying in a giant old hotel with a hot tub in the window and drinking strong cocktails in the gay bar across the street and listening to ghost stories and making plans to go kayaking before dawn with some rando who asked you for a cigarette but then sat down and stayed for a chat.
Arkansas, you run deep in me.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 2:23 PM on April 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
I got to take my husband to Eureka Springs two summers ago. We usually go visit my family in Arkansas in the summer, but this time I rented a car and drove him around all the places I spent time during my first 25 years. I have to say, it still surprises me to drive through and see rainbow flags and gay PDA. If the article didn't communicate it adequately, Eureka is, like, teensy. If you're coming from any direction other than from Fayetteville, there are most certainly not any rainbow flags for a good 100 miles, and not even many people. Then you get to Eureka Springs and you're staying in a giant old hotel with a hot tub in the window and drinking strong cocktails in the gay bar across the street and listening to ghost stories and making plans to go kayaking before dawn with some rando who asked you for a cigarette but then sat down and stayed for a chat.
Arkansas, you run deep in me.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 2:23 PM on April 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
FYI I'm listing everyone who comments here as a contact. We should schedule a Eureka Springs meetup this summer (I'll be there in late June)!
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 2:25 PM on April 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 2:25 PM on April 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
Late June doesn't work for me but giant Jesus statue AND gay-friendly pretty much puts it on my household's "should visit" list.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:03 PM on April 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:03 PM on April 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
Hey, I might want to go to a Eureka Springs meetup.
posted by box at 3:50 PM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by box at 3:50 PM on April 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
I wish I could afford to just move there, it sounds awesome! What are rents like?
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 4:51 PM on April 23, 2015
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 4:51 PM on April 23, 2015
I was walking around in Eureka Springs one time, admiring the cracked, uneven sidewalk, when i noticed the sidewalk was newish. It had intentionally been made in a cracked, uneven, weathered looking way, with a lot of craftsmanship. What kind of town pays to have a cracked, uneven, weathered looking sidewalk put in? I asked myself. My kind of town.
posted by jabah at 6:09 PM on April 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by jabah at 6:09 PM on April 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
Hey, I might want to go to a Eureka Springs meetup.
Down with this idea, if we can make it at least partially kid-friendly.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:14 PM on April 23, 2015
Down with this idea, if we can make it at least partially kid-friendly.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:14 PM on April 23, 2015
I would totally go to a Eureka Springs meetup. Considering how close it is, I'm kind of embarrassed that I haven't visited there more often.
posted by lilywing13 at 9:40 PM on April 23, 2015
posted by lilywing13 at 9:40 PM on April 23, 2015
A meetup in Eureka? I'm in! It's one of my favorite places of all time. Have a mess of good friends down there, but I haven't visited in quite a long time.
Used to have a small piece of land- about 2 acres- on a small private grass airstrip a few miles NW of Eureka, always thought I'd build something on it but never did.
posted by drhydro at 10:04 PM on April 23, 2015
Used to have a small piece of land- about 2 acres- on a small private grass airstrip a few miles NW of Eureka, always thought I'd build something on it but never did.
posted by drhydro at 10:04 PM on April 23, 2015
A Eureka Springs meetup would be beautiful. I think I could make it. Just hope we could schedule it for maximum possible attendance from people far away. There's not a lot in life which makes me into a tiresome evangelist, but Eureka Springs is one of those things and I hope this article / Metafilter thread would attract at least a few people who've never been there before.
I wish I could afford to just move there, it sounds awesome! What are rents like?
Here's what's on Craigslist for the area. Not a lot listed but doesn't look too terrible in terms of pricing. 500-700 range.
Keep an eye on the Eureka Springs newspaper. They've got their classified ads online. Nothing listed this week, unless you'd like to rent a space for a shop with a live-in apartment upstairs.
posted by honestcoyote at 12:10 AM on April 24, 2015
I wish I could afford to just move there, it sounds awesome! What are rents like?
Here's what's on Craigslist for the area. Not a lot listed but doesn't look too terrible in terms of pricing. 500-700 range.
Keep an eye on the Eureka Springs newspaper. They've got their classified ads online. Nothing listed this week, unless you'd like to rent a space for a shop with a live-in apartment upstairs.
posted by honestcoyote at 12:10 AM on April 24, 2015
Eureka would be awesome if it weren't so fucking tiny. I go apeshit staying in places like that for more than a couple of days. My cousin has been living there the past few years and he and his family love it and my total hippie brother in law lived there a couple of summers ago while working at the Basin Park.
I have long enjoyed the stories my old hippie friends would tell about the Harvest Ball they'd have every year, with none other than Willie Nelson in attendance most years. And how the usual Christmas gift was a trash bag full of weed.
I prefer Fayetteville, although it could definitely do without their relatively recent addition of the Tea Party council member. I'd be way more mad about the repeal of the anti discrimination ordinance, but it really was quite poorly drafted. It was almost impossible to tell what was actually prohibited. I'd like to think that a more well written one could be passed again.
posted by wierdo at 8:35 PM on April 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have long enjoyed the stories my old hippie friends would tell about the Harvest Ball they'd have every year, with none other than Willie Nelson in attendance most years. And how the usual Christmas gift was a trash bag full of weed.
I prefer Fayetteville, although it could definitely do without their relatively recent addition of the Tea Party council member. I'd be way more mad about the repeal of the anti discrimination ordinance, but it really was quite poorly drafted. It was almost impossible to tell what was actually prohibited. I'd like to think that a more well written one could be passed again.
posted by wierdo at 8:35 PM on April 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
a year ago this week arkansas had gay marriage, which eureka springs played a huge part in.
tomorrow eureka springs votes on their anti-discrimination ordinance.
posted by nadawi at 12:52 PM on May 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
tomorrow eureka springs votes on their anti-discrimination ordinance.
posted by nadawi at 12:52 PM on May 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
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In May 2014, the morning after Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, the town's compact stone courthouse issued the first legal marriage license to an LGBTQ couple in Arkansas history — two nice young women named Kristin Seaton and Jennifer Rambo, who haven't, to anybody's knowledge, taken to church burnings and busting up Christian bookstores with pickaxe handles since then. Probably too busy figuring out whose turn it is to take out the trash. Such are the things a marriage is made of.
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Fantastic writing. Very evocative. This was clearly a labor of love for the writer, who took the time to get the story right. Thanks so much for posting, nadawi.
posted by zarq at 11:30 AM on April 23, 2015 [3 favorites]