OLD EUREKA SPRINGS TUNNEL
N 36° 26.913 W 093° 41.312
15S E 438297 N 4033921
OLD RAILROAD TUNNEL SOUTHEAST OF EUREKA SPRINGS
Waymark Code: WMYRY
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 11/16/2006
Views: 299
The Eureka Springs area had a reputation as a tourist destination well before the first pioneers reached Arkansas. Several Native American legends tell of a Great Healing Spring in the Eureka Springs area.
This reputation continued as Europeans arrived on the scene and the waters of the springs gained a reputation of having magical powers. Within a short time Eureka Springs was transformed into a flourishing city, spa, and tourist destination.
Dr. Alvah Jackson first located the spring and claimed that the waters of Basin Spring had cured his eye ailments in 1856. Dr. Jackson established a hospital in a local cave during the American Civil War and used the waters from Basin Spring to treat his patients. After the war Jackson marketed the spring waters as "Dr. Jackson's Eye Water". The Ozarka Water Company was later formed in Eureka Springs.
In 1879 Judge J.B. Saunders, a friend of Jackson,
claimed that his crippling disease was cured by the spring waters. Saunders started promoting Eureka Springs to friends and family members across the State and created a boomtown. Within a period of one year the city had transformed itself from a rural spa village to a major city of 10,000 people.
On 14 February 1880 Eureka Springs was incorporated as a city. Thousands of visitors came to the springs based on Saunders promotion and covered the area with tents and shanties. Late in 1881 the town reached a population of 10,000. In 1881 Eureka Springs enjoyed the status of Arkansas's fourth largest city.
The Tunnel is a hand dug relic of the past.
As the people incresead so did the need for a larger and better rail system.
Thus the abandonment of the Old Tunnel.
Construction: Natural - No lining
Condition: Collapsed
Rail Status: No
Current status: Abandoned & Visitable
Original Use: Military
The "Other End": N 36° 26.991 W 093° 40.902
Tunnel Length: 1,200.00
Terrain: 
Website: [Web Link]
Suggested Parking Area: Not Listed
Date Built: Not listed
Date Abandoned: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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