Eureka Springs Independent Newspaper Column for June 4, 2014 by Steve Weems

I don’t travel much, unless you count sitting at a computer looking at aerial photography. Amazing what one can see without even leaving home. I’ve always considered Eureka Springs a unique town in most every way, including name, but I’ve run across some places that call the name part into question.

First up is the community of Eureka Springs, North Carolina. Located in Cumberland County, it is now a suburb of the city of Fayetteville, North Carolina, best known as the home of Fort Bragg. The US Special Forces and the 82nd Airborne are both based there. I know a guy from the army who was stationed at Fort Bragg, but he doesn’t recall there being a place called Eureka Springs, North Carolina. He had an interesting job. He was airborne artillery, which means not only did he jump out of airplanes, but he jumped from airplanes also dropping giant cannons called howitzers.

The second Eureka Springs I have run across is in Mississippi. It is just a small community, located in Panola County, not far from Batesville, Mississippi. It is home to the Eureka Springs Methodist Church and a cemetery.

Third up is the Eureka Springs area of Tampa Bay, Florida. Located in Hillsborough County, it is now a 31-acre public park located on Eureka Springs Road. It was originally a privately owned tropical botanical garden founded in 1938 around a group of springs called the Eureka Springs. Nearby is the Eureka Springs First Baptist Church.

Fourth, there is a Eureka Springs area in the city of Escondido near San Diego, California. Now it appears to be a housing addition of $500,000 homes.

In Fort Worth, Texas, there is a street called Eureka Springs Court, while Lexington, Kentucky and Surprise, Arizona both have streets called Eureka Springs Drive.

I will assert that our Eureka Springs is the most famous of all these places, but I can’t prove it. While in the US Army, I can only think of five people I met who’d heard of Eureka Springs. But then again, I met several who claimed to have never even heard of Arkansas.