The Ozark Folk Festival

Our new exhibit celebrates the Eureka Springs Ozark Folk Festival. First held in the third week of October in 1948, it is believed to be the longest running festival of its kind in the United States.

Designed to preserve and promote the arts, culture, and folklore of the Ozarks, over the years the festival has offered a cornucopia of entertainment, including square dancing and fiddling contests, street dancing, folk music of many traditional styles, spelling bees, horseback tricks and rodeo, comedy and magic acts, vintage fashion show, beard-growing competition, pie suppers, singing contests, dancing and songs by indigenous people, a festival queen competition, arts and craft shows, bagpipes, a “barefoot" ball, and a very large downtown parade.

Permanent Exhibits

First Floor

• “The City That Water Built"
• “The Springs"
• “Stereo Views and Postcards"
• “Fires Almost Destroyed Her"
• “Architecture"
• “Travel and Tourism"
• “Sophia's Parlour"

Second Floor

• “Early Education and the Crescent College"
• “Veterans Memorabilia"
• “Early Medicine and Machines"
• “Art Gallery and Carry A. Nation Mural"
• “Antique Dolls"
• “Pioneer Room"

Art Gallery

The Eureka Springs Historical Museum boasts a large collection that captures the history of our city, but equally fascinating is the art work featured in our recently renovated art gallery space. In the 1930´s Eureka Springs had a renaissance as an arts community led by the famed Louis and Elsie Freund. They created work that is now in private collections, the Smithsonian and at the Historical Museum. Their passion for art and growing our arts community can be felt today through our own 200+ artists living in the area.

Over the years Eureka Springs has been the home to hundreds of artists. The Museum has a growing collection of paintings, photographs, prints, art pottery, jewelry and sculptures by artists who have lived in the area and been inspired by its natural beauty and Victorian architecture. Some are known not only regionally, but nationally. They include Louis and Elsie Bates Freund, father and son painters Fred and Glen Swedlun, Miriam McKinnie, Tommy Thomas, Glen Gant, Ken Addington, Bettie Maffei, Gary Eagan, Charlie Stehm, Florence Fish, W.H. Farnum, F. Weatherell, and many more.

“Carry A. Nation" mural by H. Louis Freund

Reflecting life in Eureka Springs at the turn of the century, with an active scene of temperance leader Carry A. Nation wielding her infamous hatchet, the Eureka Springs Historical Museum is proud to feature this fully restored 1940 mural by noted WPA artist H. Louis Freund. Featuring popular Eureka landmarks such as Basin Park and Pivot Rock, the mural was originally painted inside the Art School of the Ozarks that operated in Nation's former home, “Hatchet Hall". After the school closed in 1967,  the mural was removed and donated to the museum by Louis Freund.

For over 20 years, the Eureka Springs Historical Museum carefully stored the mural, until one day museum volunteer Suzanne Williams requested that the professional art restoration experts at Norton Arts examine the mural and provide an estimate of what it would cost to restore it. The mural had suffered extensive damages before being removed from Hatchet Hall, but project restoration lead Wendel Norton had admired and respected Freund’s work and had several pieces in his personal collection, and was happy to take on the project as his final “labor of love".

With support from Arkansas historian Dr. Diane Gleason, the conservation process began in December of 2018. Dr. Dawn Ward was the museum’s Director of Collections at the time, and was impressed by the efforts of the conservation team, stating, “The expertise of the team led by Wen Norton not only brought the mural back to life, but they also had the vision to re-create the setting by including the doorway and window that the mural was originally painted around.”

The “Carry A. Nation Mural” exhibit was officially opened on December 7, 2019.