Bradley County
Crawford Sulphur Springs
These springs lying southeast of Sumpter were brought to fame by the famed geologist Alpert C. Peale when they were included in his “Analysis and List of Mineral Springs in the United States”. This text written for the U.S. Geological Survey in 1886 was considered a “preliminary study” yet remains one of the most comprehensive surveys of the United State’s mineral springs and their prescriptive usage. Regardless of the springs' notoriety they were not improved nor offered any amenities to health seekers who had far more substantial and convenient options to pursue in securing rest and restoration and thus were only of local renown.
Crawford Sulphur Springs gave off a pungent ordor of hydrogen sulfide and any hunter, explorer or traveler on the Saline River would have caught whiff of the springs long before the area was settled. The water was reported as being a strong alkaline sulphuretted elixir and that the sulfides could not be readily detected with the usual lead silver reagents in use in the late 1800s. The principal constituents were alkaline carbonates, probably both soda and potash, sulfate of magnesia (Epsom salts) and sodium chloride. The water was also reported to have contained silica and that it could petrify wood. Reported medicinal benefits that were obtained in using the spring water included as an anti-acid and anti-scorbutic; however, such usage must have been short-lived and very limited in scope.
In 1881 -- right at the very peak of Arkansas' water craze -- Marion Parnell took over ownership of a half section of land having a well-known watering hole. Parnell tapped the springhead to create three separate veins of water which he identified as magnesium, iron, and sulphur. Parnell then adorned the setting with trails and landscaped gardens and invited all the public to visit and drink the water for free. They came and stayed. By the early 1900s, Parnell Springs had become part of a thriving community – in addition to Parnell's hotel with its large dining room and many cottages, there were stables for the horses and carriages, stores for goods, a restaurant, a sawmill, two cotton gins, a boarding house, a grist and corn mill, a blacksmith shop, a post office, two schools, and a barbershop. Parnell Springs seemed destined to become a first-class summer resort but by 1909 when it was proposed that Parnell Springs be considered for the location of a state hospital for the treatment of tuberculosis the examiners found the resort in such disrepair “that the buildings are hardly capable of being turned into practical use". The watering hole that once offered healing waters to thousands of patrons is no more in use.
Scobey Springs
John C. Scobey was a prosperous farmer, miller, judge and land owner who is claimed to have sawed nearly all the lumber during Warren’s building boom following the Civil War. Scobey is reported to have owned a spring north of Warren – not far from Parnell Spring -- that is also said to have possessed medicinal properties. This spring at the headwaters of Hollis (Scobey) Creek not far from Wheeler Springs cemetery was once surrounded by some of the best bear hunting grounds in Arkansas and the reported hotel near the springs may be better described as a hunting lodge used principally by Scobey, family and friends as a base camp for bear hunting adventures rather than a center of healing. Albeit the spring is mentioned in Polk’s Medical Register in 1914 no information is available regarding the prescriptive use of these mineral springs. In the early 1900s Scobey sold his interests in the springs – property that his father first homesteaded in the early 1800s -- and moved to Warren and later to California. Interestingly, Scobey once picked cotton for Rev. Charles H. Seay one of the earliest settlers of the area and owner of another spring whose water offered healing benefits.
Seay Springs
The Rev. Charles H. Seay arrived to Bradley County when the land was still unsettled and wild. In 1827 the well-known and highly regarded preacher was appointed Magistrate, thus becoming the first judicial officer in the county. He also served as county treasurer and circuit court clerk when not administering to those seeking divine guidance and repentance. More importantly to our study, Seay also owned a reputed health-giving spring north of Warren – most likely in the headwaters of Seay Creek. The geniel Mr. Seay built a hotel near the springs for the accommodation of guests – ideally buisinessmen seeking a reprieve from their daily duties but unfortunately, no information is available as to the identity and prescriptive use of these springs – their history is lost to time.
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