Crescent Cottage InnIn the Victorian era, well-to-do families needed a proper reason to take a summer holiday. The spiritual uplift of a Chatauqua meeting, perhaps, or the physical well-being induced by drinking water from mineral springs. This gingerbread town came into being practically overnight as families flocked to enjoy its mineral waters and clear mountain air.
One promoter of Eureka Springs was Powell Clayton, a Union general and the first postwar governor of Arkansas, who built the Crescent Cottage Inn in 1881. Today the mansion has been restored to its original elegance and furnished with antiques.
Innkeepers Ralph and Phyllis Becker pamper their guests with early coffee, a delicious full breakfast, and afternoon tea or wine. Crescent Cottage Inn is a superb inn, one of the best in the country. It is a short walk from the good restaurants and shops in the historic downtown area and an easy drive to the battlefield at Pea Ridge.
Address: 211 Spring St., Eureka Springs, AR 72632; tel: 501-253-6022; fax: 501-253-6234; E-mail: raphael@ipa.net.
Accommodations: Four double rooms, all with private baths.
Amenities: Air-conditioning, parking, rooms have Jacuzzis; some have fireplaces and refrigerators; all have phones, TVs, and VCRs. Complimentary soft drinks.
Rates: $$-$$$. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and personal checks.
Restrictions: No children under twelve, no pets, restricted smoking.
Pea Ridge BattlefieldOn March 7 and 8, 1862, a battle fought here, near the Elkhorn Tavern, kept Missouri in the Union. It was one of the most important battles of the war fought west of the Mississippi River.
Confederate general Earl Van Dorn planned to march from Arkansas into southern Missouri and retake St. Louis. When his seventeen-thousand-man army approached a strongly entrenched Federal force of eleven thousand under General Samuel Curtis south of Pea Ridge, Van Dorn abandoned his supply train and slipped behind him.
Federal scouts (among them, Wild Bill Hickok) observed the maneuver. Alerted, Curtis turned his back on his fortifications and prepared to meet Van Dorn’s two-pronged attack.
On the first day of the battle, the Federals held their ground on their left flank southeast of Pea Ridge, and gave ground slowly in bitter fighting on their right around Elkhorn Tavern.
The next day, exhausted and low on ammunition, the rebels broke and ran under Curtis’s determined counterattack, led by German immigrants under General Franz Sigel.
Pea Ridge was the only major battle in which Indian troops participated as regular troops. (The Confederates recruited about one thousand Cherokees from the Indian territory, now Oklahoma.) The Indians, having never before seen field cannon, were so awed by the power of the artillery that they eventually took to the woods.
Pea Ridge National Military Park is thirty miles northeast of Fayetteville, and an easy drive from Eureka Springs. The Visitor Center has a collection of arms, uniforms, artifacts and historical photographs. A slide presentation describes the battle and its significance. A self-guided auto tour goes along a seven-mile loop of the battlefield. The park is open daily, 8:00-5:00, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. The battle is reenacted in the spring, and living history demonstrations are given in the summer and early fall. Admission is $2 for adults, children under sixteen free, $4 for cars. For information phone 501-451-8122.
Two other sites of interest are in the area. Headquarters House, 118 E. Dickson St., Fayetteville, was used at various times for both the Federal and Confederate armies. The Battle of Fayetteville was fought on the house grounds and across the street on April 18, 1863. The battle is reenacted here on the third Saturday in August. Open Monday, 10:00-12:00, Thursday, 1:00-4:00, and Saturday, 10:00-12:00. Tours by appointment. Admission is free. For information phone 501-521-2970.
Ten miles west of Fayetteville on U.S. 62 is the Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park. On December 7, 1862, the last major battle fought in northwest Arkansas took place here and it paved the way for control of the region by the Union army. The battle is reenacted the first weekend in December in even-numbered years. Open daily, 8:00-nightfall (museum open 8:00-5:00). Admission is $2.50 for adults, $1.50 for children. For information phone 501-846-2990.
The Old State HouseOne of the most beautiful buildings in the state, the Old State House is also one of the most historically significant. Opened in 1836, the year Arkansas was admitted to the Union, the legislature met here until the present capitol was built in 1911.
The 1861 secession convention was held here, and in 1863 the Confederate state government fled the area and the town was occupied by Union troops. General Frederick Steele quartered his army in the Old State House during the occupation.
The Old State House Museum, 300 W. Markham St., is a museum with six rooms furnished to show how tastes in the state changed over the years. Five galleries have changing history and art exhibits. On the lawn is “Lady Baxter,” a cannon that dates from the Civil War. It is open Monday-Saturday, 9:00-5:00, and Sunday, 1:00-5:00. Admission is free. For information phone 501-324-9685.
The Empress of Little RockJames Hornibrook, a prosperous saloon keeper, determined to give his family the finest house in the city, built this magnificent Queen Anne-style mansion in 1888. Among its many features: a divided stairway, stained glass, a three-and-a-half-story corner tower, and 7,500 square feet of interior space. Mr. Hornibrook, however, died shortly after the house was completed.
Over the years the mansion has been a women’s college and a nursing home, and was finally divided up into apartments. Bob Blair and Sharon Welch-Blair bought the dilapidated eyesore, gave it the restoration it deserved, and turned it into a charming inn.
A Victorian atmosphere pervades the house. Bric-a-brac is everywhere. Floral Aubusson rugs cover the parquet floors, complemented by large-patterned wallpaper. The house, in the city’s Quapaw Quarter Historic District, is on the National Register. The National Geographic Traveler described the Empress of Little Rock as “one of the loveliest buildings in the state.” It is the only inn in Arkansas with a four-diamond rating from AAA.
Address: 2120 S. Louisiana St., Little Rock, AR 72206; tel: 501-374-7966.
Accommodations: Five guest rooms, all with private baths.
Amenities: Climate-controlled rooms, air-conditioning, off-street parking, rooms have clock-radios and phones, TV in room on request, exercise trail nearby, laundry service available, fax and copier available, computer dataports available.
Rates: $$-$$$, including choice of early-bird continental breakfast or gourmet brunch.
Restrictions: No children under ten, no pets, no smoking.
