Great Getaways: Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Dr. Alvah Jackson’s eureka moment came in 1856, when the area’s Native Americans told him that the mountain springs could heal. Jackson’s son was allegedly cured of an eye disease by area waters. Civil War veterans followed Jackson to the Ozarks to remedy battle wounds. Jackson used his notoriety to build a post-Civil War medicinal business of selling Eureka Springs water. Today, visitors are drawn to the romantic allure of healing and mysticism. Take a photo tour of Eureka Springs.

Perhaps the best-known attraction in Eureka Springs is “The Great Passion Play,” performed outdoors nearly every night from spring until autumn.  As the sun sets in the Ozarks, more than 250 actors recreate the biblical story of Jesus Christ.  The largest outdoor Christian-themed production in the United States leaves little to the imagination: the play’s camels, sheep and horse-drawn chariots are decidedly real.

Built from wood and other materials indigenous to Eureka Springs, the Thorncrown Chapel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1980 by architect E. Fay Jones, the chapel is 48 feet tall and has 425 windows. The chapel has won numerous architectural awards, including the prestigious American Institute of Architecture's Design of the Decade Award, and has received more than five million visitors since its opening. Take a virtual tour of the Thorncrown Chapel.

Same-sex couples travel to Eureka Springs to legitimize partnerships.  Eureka Springs is the only town in the southern United States that permits domestic-partner registration.  Many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender folks flock to the town’s diversity weekends and pride festivals. Hotels, guesthouses and restaurants are typically friendly to those of all sexual and gender orientations.

With people of all political, sexual and religious persuasions living peacefully in Eureka Springs, the loudest noise comes from the town’s—actually, the world’s—largest tuned musical wind chime. Ranaga Farbiarz erected the chime in 2005 to honor his late father Ignatz Farbiarz, a survivor of the Holocaust. The chime smashes previously held records for sheer enormity and was listed in the 2006 Guinness Book of Records. Listen to the story of how the world’s largest wind chime was constructed on NPR.