Here are a couple of old photographs taken at what is now the headquarters for the Eureka trolley barn and depot for our earliest transit system.

Public Transit began in Eureka Springs in 1891 when the City acquired 10 streetcars, to be drawn over rails by mules, from Houston, Texas.

In 1898 all of the cars were retro-fitted with electric motors and overhead wires were installed for power. For the next 25 years the clickety-clack of the streetcars could be heard all along lower and upper Spring Street, then up to the Crescent and Thatch Hotels and back

Unfortunately for those who loved riding the trolleys, the 1920's brought automobiles and along with them the demise of Eureka Springs' first mass transit system. It would be another 55 years before Eureka would see trolleys on her streets again, but on July 31, 1978, transportation in Eureka Springs was re-born.

First Modern Trolley - 1978

Then in 1984 the City, with the financial assistance of the Federal Transit Administration, secured the funds to buy the properties on which now sit the Visitor Welcome Center and the Downtown Trolley Depot. In addition the City began using a rubber-tired trolley manufactured by the Chance Corporation. It's time to bring a little nostalgia back into your lives, along with a lot of convenience: Ride a Trolley. It's easy...it's inexpensive...reservations are not necessary...and you can catch a trolley at any one of the 115 stops located in town. To make it even easier getting around, we've color-coded the routes. Just look for the colored pennant flying from the front bumper and the matching banner on the side. And in addition to the trolleys, we have a couple of mini-buses to back up our fleet. They can be used just like the trolleys. Our horseless trolleys cover every area of town: to the west on Highway 62 as far as the Razorback Gift Shop (and to Thorncrown Chapeland Lake Leatherwood City Park until 4 pm most days between April and October); north on Highway 23 (also known as Main Street in town) to the Eureka Springs North Arkansas Railroad; east on Highway 62 to the Alpen Dorf Motel turn-around and north on Passion Play Road to the entrance of the Great Passion Play; and South on Highway 23 to the Eureka Springs convalescent center. And, we have a route that will take you through the largest historic district in Arkansas, the heart of Eureka Springs.