Located in the easternmost portion of the Ozark Mountains lies the town of Ravenden Springs (Randolph County). Its beginnings date back to 1809, when John Janes settled on the creek that now bears his name near present-day Ravenden Springs. Janes, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, established a trading post on the banks of the stream. Eventually, two small villages grew up around Janes’s store, Walnut Hill and Kingsville, both of which slowly disappeared over time.
Ravenden Springs was established in 1880, due to a recurring dream of Rev. Willam Bailey. Bailey, a Methodist minister, had suffered from a painful stomach ailment most of his adult life. According to local legend, Bailey dreamed there was a miracle spring located at the bottom of the rock walls of Hall’s Creek Canyon, where Bailey and his family had resided for several decades. The Methodist minister dreamed he climbed down into the canyon, found and drank from a spring and was miraculously cured of his sickness. The settlement that grew up around the spring became known as Dream Town. Eventually the town’s name would officially be changed to Ravenden Springs when it was incorporated on Aug. 18, 1881.
According to a Nov. 23, 2008 article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a total of five springs were discovered in Hall’s Creek Canyon and each supposedly had unique healing properties for various ailments. Other reports cite a different number of springs, including one in the May 24, 1887 edition of the Arkansas Gazette, which listed three springs. Yet another article in the Oct. 24, 1937 issue of the Gazette mentioned only two healing springs.
The tale of Rev. Bailey’s dream and the miracle spring spread like wildfire across the region, and as such, more settlers and tourists came to the area. One such visitor was a railroad executive named R. D. Welsh. Welsh visited the spring and the surrounding area. He was immediately impressed with what he saw and returned to his native city of St. Louis to organize a stock company. Welsh returned to the area and laid out a town around the spring. Welsh’s stock company constructed a forty-room hotel named the Southern Hotel above Hall’s Creek Canyon in 1883.
With the construction of the hotel and the growing popularity of the springs by those looking for miraculous cures, Ravenden Springs became a true spa town. More hotels were built to accommodate the increasing number of visitors. The town was especially busy during summer months, as it was located at a higher elevation than the swamplands to the east, which made it much cooler than other areas in the state.
Once known as Dream Town, Ravenden Springs was named for another canyon in the vicinity known as Elephant Cave. High upon the canyon’s wall was a shallow cave called the Raven’s Den. The den was a popular nesting place of the bird species during the 1820s. However, for some reason, ravens have not been spotted in the area since the early 1860s.
During its peak years as a spa town, Ravenden Springs was home to many businesses, a post office, banks, and doctors and law offices. The majestic Atkins Hotel was built in 1902, and offered numerous amenities to visitors. However, starting in the 1930s, Ravenden Springs began to lose its popularity as a summer resort.
Today, Ravenden Springs is home to several businesses, four churches and a post office. Many of the town’s 200 residents are farmers and ranchers, while others are employed in nearby Pocahontas.
The community schoolhouse, a large single-story fieldstone structure built in 1941, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 2004. The building is now home to the Ravenden Springs Community Museum, which interprets the history of the area.
Also located in Ravenden Springs is a 12-foot-tall raven statue made of cement stucco erected in 1996, after the original fiberglass statue built in 1991 by members of the local volunteer fire department, was set afire by vandals. Located on Highway 63 as you enter Ravenden Springs, the statue is must-see attraction and a great place for photo-op.
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