Eureka Springs, Arkansas is an amazing town seniors love to visit. Senior Travel Genie offers resources for Eureka Springs hotels, spas and much more in this town that has welcomed visitors for hundreds of years.

Eureka Springs, AR History

Legends of several Indian tribes spoke of a Great Healing Spring in the mountains. The first white settler to "discover" the healing springs is reputed to be Dr. Alvah Jackson, who used the healing waters to cure his son of an eye ailment in 1856. The waters were used at "Dr. Jackson's Cave Hospital" to care for combatants during the Civil War. Following the war, Dr. Jackson set up a brisk business selling "Dr. Jackson's Eye Water."

Eureka's miraculous cures remained a local marvel until 1879 when the doctor's friend and hunting companion Judge J.B. Saunders was cured of a crippling disease by a visit to Basin Spring, and subsequently put his considerable influence behind promoting the Springs to friends and family throughout the state.

The City of Eureka Springs was founded and named on July 4, 1879. As word of Eureka's miraculous, healing waters began to spread, thousands of visitors flocked to the original encampment of tents and hastily built shanties.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas – Healing Waters & Soothing Spas in the Ozarks

Today, the entire downtown area of Eureka Springs, AR is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. While nowhere near the largest town in Arkansas, it is a "First Class City." Senior Travel Genie supplies resources for resorts and much more in this fascinating town.