Initially the widespread damage at Blue Spring Heritage Center from a storm that hit at 1:08 a.m. on Tuesday, April 2, was thought to be a result of straight-line winds. John Fuller Cross, Sr., who owns Blue Spring, said they later learned that Blue Spring was hit by an EF-1 tornado.
“It’s a mess,” Cross said. “Our damage was evidently part of the same EF1 tornado that went from Garfield and Oak Grove to Blue Eye in Missouri. We are out there trying to get it cleaned up so people can tour it again. The business was closed Wednesday and Thursday.” The popular tourist attraction re-opened on Friday.
The Eureka Springs area rarely sees tornadoes because of mountainous terrain. Cross chronicled the most recent one in the CS Bank Calendar for May 2023 that was called The Great Tornado on Busch Mountain.
“That is as close as tornadoes have been to Blue Spring or Eureka Springs,” Cross said. “It was devastating.”
Blue Spring Director of Operations John Cross, Jr., said they had no warning of the tornado.
“Everyone is saying there were no warnings by the National Weather Service as apparently their equipment was off-line,” Cross said. “I have a weather radio and did not get any kind of warning other than a thunderstorm watch alert earlier. We were lucky in the respect that this happened at night so there were no guests in the park. On a personal note, if it had hit another 75 yards to the north, it would have gotten our house.”
Cross said the Inspiration Point Fire Chief confirms radar was off-line for 4.5 hours that night.
Cross reported they lost 40 to 50 trees, some so large you could put your arms around them. In addition to four large trees in the shade garden and other large trees uprooted around the property, they lost about 20 small ornamental trees and flowerbeds were damaged.
“I am dead beat tired, sore and exhausted,” Cross said during cleanup on April 4. “There was a lot of damage to the water wheel, a building next to it, and fences. Trees fell close to the dam but didn’t damage it. We have an eight-foot hurricane fence around the property that was smashed in five or six places. As you come into the property on the road, there were cedar trees laying everywhere. The storm took the cedar trees and just twisted them. We had a couple thousand smaller plants that were crushed. I could see damage across the river, but I haven’t had time to check that out.”
Cross said it will take weeks to repair the damage. Irrigation systems were destroyed, antique stained-glass windows in the pavilion were blown out, the water wheel building will need repair, and numerous damaged trees will have to be removed.
“I expect to find additional damage in the way of irrigation pumps, etc., once we get the system back up and running,” Cross said. “I haven’t had a chance to inspect all the roofs yet nor check my fences on the east side of the entrance. The tornado totally changed some of my shade beds to full sun which will need to be addressed and beds replanted.”
Recently the Blue Springs Heritage Center was named the 2nd most stunning botanical garden in the U.S. by pergola and pavilion designers at Pergola Kits USA, which analyzed Tripadvisor reviews at 260 botanical gardens in the United States.
Blue Spring discharges 38 million gallons of crystal clear water per day. There is an impoundment around the spring that flows in a larger pond before emptying into the White River.
The website for the popular tourist attractions says Blue Spring captures the rich history of the Ozarks, from prehistoric civilization to American Indian journeys and early settler life. There is evidence of an old mill powered by the spring and other remnants of a community centered on the water.
“In 1993, 33 acres were transformed into the Eureka Spring Gardens. And, in 2003, the rich history of the land was blended with the beauty of the Gardens to become the Blue Spring Heritage Center,” the website states. “Artifacts, old photos, a new historic film spanning the significance of the Blue Spring site, and the walkways through the natural world all await visitors.”
Blue Spring was a stop on the infamous Trail of Tears in the winter of 1838-39.
The attraction is popular for weddings, and is wheelchair accessible.