The
Mammoth Spring
"In Fulton county is a remarkable phenomenon, its
waters either by compression, or from some other peculiar cause, contains
apparently, in solution, such a great amount of carbonic acid, that its surface
is in a continuous state of effervescence or bubbling, resembling the
effervescence of a fountain of soda water.
The constant temperature of the water, 60 degrees, favors apparently,
the development of animal life; and the number of species of water plants
growing near the borders, but still in the waters, such as Indian rice, water
cress, marsh speedwell, etc., is the cause of allurement for fowls, especially
during the winter months. This place
will, doubtless in the future, acquire great importance as affording a healthy
and pleasant place of summer resort.
"The main body of water issues from a large
cavernous opening, forty yards in circumference, and boils up with a constant
flow, at the rate of 8,000 barrels per minute.
It affords valuable water power for general manufacturing
purposes."
The following poem was published in The Daily
Democrat Newspaper, Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, 29 Aug
1941.
THE MAMMOTH SPRING
I
know you’ve heard of a little town,
Tucked
away in the Ozark hills;
Where the largest spring in the world is
found.
Whose
source with mystery thrills,
The
minds of travelers, who stop to scan,
This wonder of nature, the boon to man.
Its
crystal waters flow swift and wide.
Mid
verdure green thru’ the country side.
And
pause the wheels of industry to turn,
That
many bright lights of the town will burn.
The
motorboats glide o’er its surface blue,
A
glass bottom boat, and the old canoe,
Furnish
plenty of fun, so I’ve been told,
For the old as well as the young.
Perhaps
you’re planning a trip to take,
To mountains cool or silvery lake.
I
hope you’ll consider the praises I sing,
And
come view the beautiful Mammoth Spring.
The poem was signed “A Visitor.”
I do remember as a child going to visit my grandparents
and my cousins took me boating and swimming at the lake. The lake has been changed since it was made
into an Arkansas State Park. The source
of the spring comes from Oregon County, Missouri, called The Grand Gulf. The Gulf is also a Missouri State Park. My aunt and uncle, Dorothy and Herman
Herbold, took me to see the Gulf and we hiked down to the natural bridge
portion. My Uncle Herman told me about
his father and a group of men going into the caves and throwing three bales of
hay into the underground river. Three
days later those bales of hay popped up in The Mammoth Spring lake.
The following links will explain more about these
natural resources.
Below are photos that my husband, Mike Davis, took on
our last visit to Mammoth Spring during Jul 2010.
Photos may take a bit of time to load. Please be patient.
Mammoth
Dam near Mammoth Spring State Park
Updated 16
Feb 2015