Travel

Nearly 200 vintage images capture the development of the tiny Eureka Springs, Arkansas and the story of a closely held secret that cured the ill.

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.

Join author Heather Woodward as she breathes life into Arkansas’s derelict places, weaving tales of pioneer grit, oddball history and paranormal whispers. Wander into the neglected corners of Northwest Arkansas, where forgotten towns, crumbling ruins and eerie legends converge. Explore ghostly locales like Rush’s empty mines, the long-forgotten history of War Eagle Mill and East Calico Rock’s “ghost town within a town.” Step into the haunting past of Monte Ne, a sunken resort swallowed by Beaver Lake, or feel the residual chill of the Boone Tuberculosis Sanitarium. From the relics of Dinosaur World to the quirky remains of Dogpatch USA, uncover the weird, tragic and unexplained.

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.

Founded on America's frontier in 1828, Fayetteville soon became a trade center and educational oasis for northwest Arkansas and the Indian Territory just to the west.

Its location up in Ozark hills gave it a picturesque setting, a healthy climate, and diverse economy. The earliest residents named the town Washington Court because it was the county seat of Washington County, but its name was changed to Fayetteville in 1829, soon becoming synonymous with education in Arkansas. Fayetteville provided numerous educational firsts, including the first public school district, the first college chartered to award degrees, the first state university, and the first school and university in the South to integrate. In addition to being a cultural crossroads, Fayetteville also proved to be a literal crossroads for the following: the Trail of Tears, the Butterfield stagecoach route, and the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway. They fostered a citizenry that thrived on commerce while encouraging education and tourism.

Vintage postcards and photographs depict the history of this Arkansas resort, Hot Springs.

From its rise in the 1800s until well into the twentieth century, Hot Springs was a famed resort known worldwide. The grand hotels and world-class bath houses that sprang up around the government-protected springs drew countless visitors, ranging from the  famous and wealthy to those of humble means, all seeking the health and pleasure promised by the Spa City's promoters. In the words of a railroad tourist guidebook from about 1910, A stay at Hot Springs, be it ever so brief, always remains a pleasant memory afterward. It was the writer's good fortune to spend a few days at this popular resort—not as an invalid, I am happy to say, but as a tourist—and I certainly never bathed in more delightful water than that which flows so abundantly from the hot springs of Arkansas. There is buoyancy, a magnetism about it that is simply indescribable. Such has been the experience of countless visitors over the years. Readers will find much of the history of this storied resort in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which is profusely illustrated with vintage postcards and photographs, all carefully interpreted by the authors, Ray and Steven Hanley, with research assistance from Mark Blaeuer of the Hot Springs National Park staff.

Anchored around the county seat of Jasper with a population of less than 500, Newton County is a nature lover's dream.

The majority of the county is composed of the Ozark National Forest and the scenic corridor of the Buffalo National River, the nation's first national river. Spring weekends find the area filled with vehicles bearing canoes and kayaks traveling to float the incomparable Buffalo River and, as year-round backpackers head out for scores of trails through the most striking wilderness in the eastern half of the nation. Amidst the scenery, long before the backpackers and vacationing families, Newton County was home to self-sufficient pioneers who began arriving in the early 1800s to build log cabins and farms to support their families—a spirit that remains today.

Join Ray and Diane Hadley as they retell the history of the communities that make up Jonesboro and Arkansas’s Northeast Corner in vintage images.

When Union soldiers returned North after the Civil War, they brought home stories of a sparsely populated area with bountiful timber and potential for homes and farms. Over the next 50 years, first by wagon train and then by railroads, settlers came to build not only homes and farms but also thriving communities in the Clay, Greene, and Craighead counties of northeastern Arkansas. Today, visitors and residents of the area see the bustle of Jonesboro and the thriving Arkansas State University. Readers of Jonesboro and Arkansas' Historic Northeast Corner will discover Jonesboro as it lived a century ago, a promising town of 7,000 citizens. As the 20th Century opened, modern and attractive towns such as Corning, Piggott, Rector, and Paragould began to thrive. The evolution of these historic areas-from slow-paced villages with dirt roads and horse-drawn wagons to the bustling towns of the late 20th century-is chronicled in this Images of America edition.

From a small settlement surrounding a railroad depot sprang a community that is today one of Arkansas's most vibrant commercial, educational, and governmental resources.

The early railroad and cotton booms brought commerce and culture to a once pastoral frontier landscape. Drawn from the Faulkner County Historical Society Collectionand the University of Central Arkansas Archives, this collection of vintage images brings the city's unique heritage to life as never before. The story of Conway was borne from the vision of Colonel Asa Peter Robinson, known as the Father of Conway, and is as fascinating as the lives of its diverse inhabitants.

This volume explores the successes of early entrepreneurs like Max Frauenthal, Jo Frauenthal, and Leo Schwartz, who helped lay the foundation for a flourishing economic prosperity. Rare glimpses of horse racing, the historic WACSprogram, and early downtown businesses are all here for your discovery.

Discover how Fayetteville went from being a small town called Washington Courthouse only to bloom into one of Arkansas' largest and most vital cities.

The town of Fayetteville was originally known as Washington Courthouse and prospered during its first two decades, until it suffered decimation during the Civil War as troops moved throughout the region. In 1871, Fayetteville successfully bid to be home to the University of Arkansas, the state's first public university. Today, the city represents a cultural convergence, with remnants of historic trails such as the Military Road between St. Louis and Fort Smith and the Trail of Tears. Author and historian Charlie Alison details pivotal events that shaped the city.

One of America's first national parks, Hot Springs has welcomed the famous and the infamous, all seeking the healing elements of her waters.

Hot Springs was one of the first areas set aside as a federal land reservation in 1832--predating the first national park at Yellowstone by 40 years. In 1921, it was officially designated a national park. Physically the smallest of the 59 US national parks today, Hot Springs measures just larger than 5,500 acres. Its 47 on-site springs produce more than 700,000 gallons of thermal water per day. From early natives who quarried novaculite found in the surrounding hills to famous politicians, performers, and athletes, people have been coming to these springs for thousands of years to partake in the supposed healing powers of the water. President Franklin Roosevelt, boxer Jack Dempsey, and French opera diva Lily Pons are a few of the visitors who made the trek to the ""Valley of the Vapors."" The history of Hot Springs National Park revolves around people's' interactions with its thermal water.

Hot Springs, known for its naturally heated springs and therapeutic bathhouses, became a major training ground in baseball. A must-have for fans of baseball history.

Hot Springs, Arkansas, with its thermal water baths, attracted its first big-league outfit when the National League champion Chicago White Stockings traveled south for spring training in 1886.

The baseball colony grew as dozens of other clubs followed. Individual players flocked here as well to hike, golf, and boil out in bathhouse steam cabinets prior to leaving for training camps elsewhere. Nearly half of Cooperstown's Hall of Famersmade the pilgrimage to this baseball mecca. Major- and minor-league aggregations, legendary teams, players of the Negro Leagues, and baseball schools for budding players and umpires all come to bat in Images of Sports: Baseball in Hot Springs.

Independence County was created by the Arkansas Territorial Legislature on October 20, 1820. Settled long before then, the region had been claimed by both Spain and France. In 1819, an early traveler described Polk Bayou as being "pleasant and advantageous as a commercial and agricultural depot." The photographs in this book, many never before published, date back to the earliest days of the county, including some of the earliest homes in the area.

Explore the once quaint farming town of Historic Monte NE. With images throughout the centuries, witness its transformation into a tourism hotspot during the 1920s.

Situated in a lush, spring-fed valley, the town of Silver Springs in Northwest Arkansas was once home to a small community of people who farmed, enjoyed the riches of rural life, and gathered at the local auditorium, gristmill, or tavern. Their world was forever changed in 1900 with the arrival of William Hope ""Coin"" Harvey. A fervent supporter of the ""free silver"" movement in the 1890s, Harvey had become disgruntled with the American financial system. Retreating to the pastoral valley, Harvey purchased 320 acres, renamed the community Monte Ne, and began to build a grand resort. It attracted visitors from across the country with its fertile landscape, large hotels, and private rail line. By the 1920s, Harvey had turned his attention to building a large ""time capsule"" pyramid, of which only the foyer, or amphitheater, was completed.

View the resort town of Hot Springs, Arkansas from 1900-1960 in postcard images.

From the 1890s to the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced during this golden age can today be considered works of art. Early in the century, Hot Springs was among the most noted resorts in the nation. Its Victorian wonders drew thousands of visitors to partake in the hot mineral waters that bubbled from the earth. In the words written on one card in 1910, Many people of wealth are here from Chicago and New York. Uncle Billy went to the horse show ball at the Eastman Hotel with an ex-wife of a millionaire. Andrew Carnegie and young Jay Gould were at the ball.  Showcased in this fascinating collection are over two hundred postcards from 1900 to 1960. The images are accompanied by the actual penned messages of visitors and extensively researched historical facts.

From humble beginnings in 1873 as a water stop on the Cairo and Fulton Railroad, Cabot is now the largest city in Lonoke County.

Incorporated on November 9, 1891, Cabot had a dark history before its current incarnation--before the city existed, a typhoid epidemic left over 1500 Confederate soldiers dead and buried in poorly-marked graves, and the infamous Trail of Tears also passed through the town. But where there was tragedy, there was also success from the Butterfield Overland Express and the Southwest Trail. Despite its rich history, Cabot was often overshadowed by its larger neighbors, but the construction of the Little Rock Air Force Base in nearby Jacksonville saw the population of Cabot explode. In 1976, the city was devastated by a killer tornado that destroyed much of the old business district. Since its recovery from the storm, the city has experienced steady growth as a bedroom community to Little Rock and has been designated as an Arkansas boomtown.

Join author Glenn Mosenthin as he recounts the history of Stuttgart, Arkansas and how the Mississippi River helped to create this progressive city.

Stuttgart was founded in 1880 by a colony of German Lutherans who moved from Ohio to Arkansas's Grand Prairie. The city grew steadily after the Cotton Belt Railroad arrived in 1883. A group of realtors promoted Stuttgart to residents of Midwestern states, attracting a large population influx. Initially, the main income sources were hay and cattle, but that changed forever after rice was successfully grown near Stuttgart. The first rice mill was built in 1907, followed in 1921 by the creation of a farmers' cooperative that is now the world's largest rice processor and marketer. By the 1930s, Stuttgart's location on the Mississippi Flyway, along with abundant surface water, led to its renown as a waterfowl hunter's paradise. The World Championship Duck Calling Contest has been held here since 1936, and today it is a nationally known event. In the post-World War II era, Stuttgart launched a successful industrial development campaign that resulted in today's progressive city.

Rediscover the rich heritage of Little Rock through its lost architectural treasures as told by Ray Hanley, a lifelong Arkansan and resident of Little Rock.

Little Rock is a sprawling city of about 200,000 at the center of a metropolitan area of more than 500,000 people, with many residing in bedroom communities in adjoining counties. Arkansas's capital city is much like the rest of Middle America with its outlying suburbs, gated communities, and shopping centers miles from the historic core. A century ago, however, Little Rock was markedly different and served a population of fewer than 50,000. The majority of citizens lived within blocks of the town center and did business downtown along rows of shops that, in many cases, dated to the late 1800s. Images of America: Lost Little Rock uses vintage photographs to reflect upon earlier times and the rich retail landscape that once filled the town. By exploring the legacies of buildings that have since been demolished, repurposed, or destroyed by fire, these images provide a sense of Little Rock's lesser-known heritage.

Pulaski County, one of Arkansas’s original five counties, has been a political and cultural center for the state since 1819, being the home of the state’s capitol and the seat of the state’s economic power.  Located in the Arkansas River valley, Pulaski County is marked by bustling communities and has been home to colorful Arkansas characters, such as Chester Ashley and William Woodruff, and civil rights pioneers, such as Scipio Jones and Daisy Bates. These luminaries left traces and trails in the architecture throughout the county that attest to their cultural and economic world. This book serves as a document to the buildings they left behind and how the county has changed in the last 200 years. /Author Brian David Irby dives into the Arkansas State Archives’ photograph collection to tell the story of Pulaski County’s development.

Springdale: The Courage of Shiloh not only explores the extraordinary history of the city, but also highlights the lives of the families who survived the hardships of immigration and homesteading, the horrors of the Civil War, and the reconstruction and progress of Springdale. From John Holcombe, the founder of Shiloh, who envisioned a city growing from the springs surrounding his church, to the birth of the Frisco Railroad, which turned a small farming community into the Fruit Center of Arkansas, this amusing and enlightening tale traces a city's continuing evolution.

Formed in 1820, Phillips County was named for Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler; Helena, the county seat, was named for Phillip's daughter and was incorporated in 1833.

Helena was a major river town and was the economic and social center of the region. Lumber mills, cotton-oil mills, railroads, and river traffic contributed to a thriving economy. Helena's various ethnic groups played an important role in society and commerce, including African Americans, Chinese, Lebanese, Greek, Italian, and others. Situated on the Mississippi River and the southern tip of Crowley's Ridge, Helena's history includes Hernando de Soto, Jacques Marquette, and seven confederate generals. The rich alluvial soil along the river attracted wealthy planters who transformed the forests into productive plantations and luxurious homes. In more recent years, Phillips County has suffered the loss of jobs and a declining population, resulting in a struggling economy.

Arkansas has always been among the leading states whose people stepped up to defend the nation in times of war.

On a few thousand acres of land across the Arkansas River from the capital city of Little Rock, this dedication is evident. Images of America: Camp Robinson and the Military on the North Shore traces the area's military history from the founding of Fort Logan H. Roots in the late 1800s through the training for World War I and World War II, when as many as 50,000 men and women were stationed at Camp Robinson at any one time. This book pays tribute to the Arkansas National Guard, which is still based at Camp Robinson and has served countless times in times of war and natural disasters. Illustrated with rare photographs spanning more than a century, Camp Robinson and the Military on the North Shore commemorates one of the proudest military training grounds in the nation's history.

If life is a highway, food is the fuel. The restaurant cuisine of Arkansas was crafted by transportation--and by family heritage.

From century-old soda fountains to heritage candy makers, Arkansas wine country and the birthplace of fried pickles, discover the delicious nooks of the Ozarks and scrumptious crannies of the Arkansas River Valley through this tasty travelogue. Learn how fried chicken came to a tiny burg called Tontitown. Discover a restaurant atop a gristmill with a history predating the Civil War. Dine where Bill Clinton, Sam Walton and Elvis Presley caught a bite to eat. Join author Kat Robinson and photographer Grav Weldon on this exploration of over one hundred of the state's classic and iconic restaurants.