[title subtitle=”words: Do South® Magazine and courtesy Arkansas Department Parks and Tourism
images:courtesy Arkansas Department Parks and Tourism”][/title]
Don’t let Old Man Winter stop you from visiting some of the most beautiful parts of Arkansas. This winter, we focus on the cities and attractions that make up Southwest Arkansas. This gorgeous region offers several pristine lakes, the Ouachita National Forest, natural hot springs, spas, scenic byways, horse racing, and even a chance to dig for diamonds in Murfreesboro at the world’s only diamond-producing site open to the public!
El Dorado
El Dorado became an oil “boom-town” in 1921 when oil was discovered a mile west of the city. Today, there is a self-guided walking tour of the city’s restored downtown, now filled with beautifully renovated 1930s-style buildings and many historic buildings on the National Register.
Historic downtown features dozens of shops, stores, restaurants, and nightlife options located near the stately 1928 Union County Courthouse. Turn-of-the-century architecture and picturesque storefronts connect a diverse mix of specialty shops. Downtown is also home to Oil Heritage, which pays homage to the city’s boom-town history. The city is also home to the Murphy Arts District (MAD), a state-of-the-art music, entertainment, and restaurant complex.
Hope
Hope has two claims to fame: it is the birthplace of former President Bill Clinton, and it showcases some of the world’s largest watermelons. Visit the President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site, with the two-story white frame house where Clinton lived from his birth in 1946 until age four. Stop by the Hope Visitor Center & Museum which contains local history exhibits and railroad memorabilia.
The town developed as the Cairo and Fulton Railway tracks were being laid from Argenta (now North Little Rock) to Fulton, with the first passenger train arriving in 1872. James Loughborough, the railroad company’s land commissioner, named the workmen’s camp in honor of his daughter Hope. The town was incorporated in 1875.
John Gibson started a watermelon-growing contest in the 1920s. The Ivan and Lloyd Bright 1979 and 1985 melons are in the Guinness Book of World Records. The first Watermelon Festival was held in 1926, and it continues every August.
Hot Springs
Hot Springs is the boyhood home of former President Clinton. There’s a national park here, and a renowned arts community with plenty of galleries, Magic Springs/Crystal Falls theme and water parks, and the Garvan Woodland Gardens.
Hot Springs National Park was established in 1832 when Congress, forty years ahead of Yellowstone, assigned the title. Hot Springs Reservation, which was renamed Hot Springs National Park in 1921, was created to protect the forty-seven naturally flowing thermal springs. Visiting the park is free.
Oaklawn Park opened in 1905, and by 1921 the town was a popular vacation destination featuring gambling, a national park, thermal water spas, and horse racing. Bathhouse Row, as it exists today, is a collection of eight architecturally significant bathhouses, most of which were built between 1912 and 1923 along Central Avenue. The Buckstaff and the Quapaw, currently operate as bathhouses offering spa services.
Illegal casino gambling thrived here during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, until Governor Winthrop Rockefeller closed the casinos in 1967. The Gangster Museum of America focuses on the 1920s-40s era of the town, when a number of infamous gangsters, such as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano, vacationed here. Owney “The Killer” Madden, owner of the famous Cotton Club in New York and who was heavily involved in organized crime during Prohibition, moved here in 1935.
Mount Ida
Mount Ida has a thriving arts community, family-owned restaurants and businesses, and the historic Montgomery County Courthouse. Rock shops line the highways in and around Mount Ida, dubbed the “Quartz Crystal Capital of the World.” Private quartz mines allow visitors to search for their own crystals for fees.
Hikers and bikers will love the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail, just eight miles west, that runs along the shores of Lake Ouachita for forty-seven miles. This hiking and biking trail has been named an Epic trail by the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA). Another IMBA Epic trail is also nearby, the thirty-nine-mile Womble Trail.
To the east, the 40,100-acre Lake Ouachita, is a great place to watch wintering bald eagles. The lake is home to striped bass, largemouth bass, catfish, crappie and bream. Professional guides are available. Stream fishing is available near the town of Mount Ida on the upper Ouachita and Caddo Rivers. Cabins are available near both streams.
Texarkana
Texarkana is named after three states: Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The two separate municipalities, Texarkana, Arkansas, and Texarkana, Texas, sometimes function as one city. The widely photographed State Line Post Office and Federal Building is the only U.S. post office situated in two states.
The Four State Auto Museum covers over 100 years of auto-making. The Draughon/Moore Ace of Clubs House was reportedly built in 1885 with the money won with the draw of a lucky poker hand. The Italianate Victorian style building features the only floor plan of its kind in the world that is said to have been inspired by the ace of clubs. The Texarkana Museums System operates the home and the interactive children’s Discovery Place Museum.
The historic theater now known as the Perot Theater first opened in 1924. Stars like Will Rogers and Annie Oakley performed here. The theater closed in 1977. The city purchased it, and restoration was possible thanks in part to a hefty contribution from Texarkana native H. Ross Perot. It was renamed in honor of his parents.
The Lindsay Railroad Museum honors the railroad history of Texarkana. Another attraction is the Scott Joplin Mural, which pays homage to master ragtime composer and Texarkana native Scott Joplin.
