Where Is Basin Spring?
Where Is Basin Spring?
When you arrive in beautiful Basin Park, you’re close! Many people peer into the well next to the fountain, see spring water flowing 15 feet below, and think they are at the original source–nope. Look up at the high bluffs that encircle the park–its’ up there! No signs point the way, or tell guests to go up, but that’s exactly what to do. Steep staircases on both sides of the park will take you up to the 300 million year-old bluffs where the infamous spring is tucked under an overhang.
The Early History of Basin Spring
The spring was “the great Indian healing spring” long before white settlers discovered it and began to bottle, disperse, and sell the water as a tonic. In 1879, word spread that the spring water held “liquid cure”, and health-seekers came to settle near the spring. They came on foot, on horseback, and in wagons–over the river and through the woods, they came! The area was wild when people first started arriving, and the journey was difficult. People showed up to this unnamed town, and called it “The Magic City”, in reference to the “magic” spring water. A settlement grew around the spring, and Eureka Springs was officially born on July 4,1879.
For eons, people have been drawn to this place, and the spring has meant different things to different people across the centuries.
Experience Basin Spring
Once you ascend to Basin Spring, stand directly in front of the stone opening. In warm weather you’ll feel very cold air pouring from the enclosure. This chilly space is exactly what brings local youth to hang out inside the small, shallow space on hot days. Crouch down to peek inside the space, and notice the temperature. Spring water can usually be seen flowing across the stone floor, depending on season and rainfall. The low stone shelves around the spring are nice places to sit awhile, for those who want to traverse the bluffs a bit. Look how stonemasons tucked walls between bluffs—the intermingling of natural stone and human labor create sculptural bluffs that frame the spring.
