Eureka Springs is a quaint resort town in the Ozarks of Arkansas, with eclectic dining and shopping - art galleries, local crafts, etc. Beaver Lake, which is huge, is just outside of town. It is a Victorian village and has a European look and feel with Victorian cottages and homes on steep winding streets.
The entire city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and with good reason. Not many towns sprang up overnight like Eureka Springs. On July 4, 1879, the town was founded and named. By the end of the year, approximately 10,000 were living there. The attraction was the areas numerous cold water springs, thought to have healing properties. Naturally, this claim was fairly short lived, and when the boom busted, a town full of Victorian homes balanced precariously on limestone bluffs was left in the Ozark wilderness without much of an economic base. As a result, few new buildings followed, and those that were there were rarely razed or renovated. Dozens, if not hundreds, of Victorian homes have remained-- ranging from tiny cottages to elaborate mansions.
Today, the city is passionate about preserving this treasure. In the Spring of 2001, Eureka Springs was named one of 12 Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Youve never seen anything quite like it.