By Dr. Curtis Varnell
The Arkansas physical education teachers probably did not know what they were getting into when they decided on a field-trip to Mt. Nebo during their yearly meeting, held this year at nearby ATU. Within minutes of passing through Dardanelle, the road to the mountain top begins to wind in steep curves, so sharp one of the teachers remarked they could almost look into the back window of the bus they were in. The elevation is only 1,800 ft. but one traverses that elevation in a hurry. Hairpin corner after hairpin corner, the bus wound itself to the plateau above, stopping only once to view the beautiful vista of the River Valley to the north.
The first description of the mountain came from French hunters as they traveled up the Arkansas River. Reaching Dardanelle, they observed a distinctive flat-topped mountain in the distance that they described as Magasin, a term meaning large barn or storehouse. Anglicized, the term Magazine was applied to it and to the many mountains surrounding it.
Abundant springs are found along the upon the bench just below the cliff line of the mountain and this was an area of early settlement. Water, percolating though the sandstone cap of the mountain, reaches the shale of this lower rock formation and flows out horizontally as springs. Varnell Springs, owned by an ancestor, provided abundant amounts of water which collected in a large basin. Eventually, pipe was laid from the spring to Dardanelle Rock where it was collected and provided a natural gravity fed water source for the town. The water, believed to have healing properties, and the cooler temperature found on the mountain top eventually lead to the creation of resorts and health centers that attracted people from across the South.
By the Civil War era, several small cabins and farms were located on the top of the mountain. In the late 1860’s, Mrs. Louis White gave the mountain the Biblical name of Nebo. In 1878, Joseph Evins of Kentucky acquired several acres of land on top of the mountain. He was very successful in growing fruit and vegetables but soon expanded into developing the mountain as a resort. The Nebo Improvement Company divided the land into blocks, laid out lots, and sold locations for homes.
By 1889, the Summit Park hotel opened for business. It was a three-story affair with over 100 rooms. It contained a ballroom, dining room, and separate rooms for bakery, kitchen, and laundry. A pool, fed by the springs, was constructed nearby and cottages sprang up around the mountain. A bowling alley, billiard rooms, a telephone exchange, and even a doctor’s office was located on the mountain. Steamboats made four trips a week from Little Rock to Dardanelle, delivering passengers who paid $8-$14 dollars a week charges to stay. Visitors not only escaped the heat of the delta but also were promised that the healing chalybeate waters would cure everything from asthma to mental exhaustion within just 30 days.
The Summit Park Hotel was completely destroyed by fire on Sunday, May 18, 1918. By that time, the mobility offered by automobile was already creating a decline in business. The hotel was never rebuilt and the mountain top declined as a vacation site. In 1924, the people on the mountain were very unsatisfied with the direction things were going and elected the first known entire female city council and government. Eventually, Dardanelle officials requested that the mountain be included in the state park system, an event which occurred in 1928 when Nebo became only the second state park.
Much of the park was acquired during the depression when people could no longer pay property taxes and their ownings confiscated. Others sold the property to the state so that they could work for the WPA, CCC, or other governmental agencies. During the depression years, the CCC developed many of the trails and buildings that still exist as part of the park.
The group hiked the rim trail, enjoyed the overlooks, checked out the cabins, and visited the center. A beautiful location, outstanding outdoor activities, and wonderful views, Nebo is an exceptional place to spend a day or vacation. Traveling back down the mountain, I prayed a silent prayer that those brakes worked well and wondered how in the world those early settlers and visitors every journeyed up and down the mountain.
