How did Eureka Springs, Arkansas get its interesting name?
From Eureka Springs “City History”– Situated eight miles from the southern Missouri border on Leatherwood Creek, a branch of the White river, this isolated area in the Northwest Arkansas Ozark Mountains is the location of many mineral “Springs.” The “Springs” medicinal qualities were discovered by Dr. Alvah Jackson in 1858. Apparently Dr. Jackson did not reveal the source of his famous “Dr. Jackson’s Eyewater” until 1879. In that year, the doctor advised his good friend, Judge L. B. Saunders of Berryville, to try the “Springs” as a final attempt in curing a bad case of erysipelas, a skin disease that caused extended inflammation. The positive results gained from the “Springs” prompted Saunders to spread the word of the medicinal qualities of the water in and around the area. In 1879, the value of the mineral “Springs” was understood; and the leaders in the area decided that the word “Eureka” (i.e., an exclamation used as an interjection to celebrate a discovery) should be combined wit
