Idyllic Setting, History Surround Remote Springs in the Ouachitas

June 13, 2000
Photo Available: (501) 682-7609

Idyllic Setting, History Surround
Remote Springs in the Ouachitas
*****
By Jim Taylor, travel writer
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism

MOUNT IDA -- On Arkansas' official highway map, Collier Springs -- located deep in the woodlands of Montgomery County -- is denoted in red with a symbol marking it among the state's many picnic areas.

What the map doesn't indicate, however, is that the springs' idyllic, Ouachita Mountain setting sparks in the mind a sense that place is more than a matter of location, that perhaps more importantly it is a legacy of prior natural and human events coalesced into the present day.

Consider, for example, that the oldest sedimentary rock stratum appearing on Arkansas' surface is exposed nearby, while it and the springs and the creek into which they flow bear the name of a pioneer family that was among the first to brave this part of the American frontier.

Though situated some 1,120 feet above sea level in the Ouachita National Forest, there are no expansive views to be had at the springs. The highlands gap in which they flow is tight, with only Ouachita Forest Road 177, the narrow picnic area and Collier Creek sandwiched between peaks on both sides that rise close by to more than 1,700 feet.

The human impact around the springs has been limited by, but stands out because of, the rugged landscape. Civilian Conservation Corps workers came in the late 1930s and built a stone retaining wall, a stone pathway and a picnic pavilion that enclosed the springs. Additions were made in 1959 by the U.S. Forest Service.

In 1909, geologist A.H. Purdue explored the area, discovered Arkansas' oldest exposed sedimentary rock and named it "Collier shale." The younger layer above he called "Crystal Mountain sandstone," after the Crystal Mountains range of the Ouachitas in which the springs are located.

Before reaching the springs, Collier Creek has descended some 300 feet in about three miles down Bear Mountain, one of at least two Ouachita peaks bearing that name. At the upstream end of the picnic area, the creek cascades over a gentle waterfall, into a placid pool and then cruises quietly along, its flow augmented by the spring water splashing from a pipe in the pavilion's foundation.

Ragwort and phlox are among the late spring wildflowers that attract numerous butterflies, including eastern tiger swallowtails and pearl crescents. Nearby, a native big-leaved magnolia blooms. A rough green snake inhabits the area but, because it is camouflaged well amidst foliage, isn't likely to be seen unless crossing the road or a path.

Shaded by overhanging trees clinging to a steep slope, small fish and crawfish dart through the stream's clear waters, which swirl around numerous boulders that have tumbled into the stream bed and become home to mosses, ferns and other plants. Most of the boulders are Crystal Mountain sandstone.

The story of those rocks, and the other rocks of the Ouachitas, belie the notion of place as a static location.

The Ouachitas began, geologists assert, as materials settling into seawater thousands of feet deep from between approximately 500 million to 300 million years ago. The layers of mud, sand, gravel, marl, lime, volcanic ash and silica lay almost flat and became so thick (estimates exceed nine miles) that they were converted by the pressure of their own weight and the sea to rocks such as shale, sandstone, limestone, chert and novaculite.

Then, beginning around 300 million years ago the rocks were squeezed northwards and folded upwards from the ocean floor by the collision of two prehistoric continents known to geologists as Laurasia and Llanoria. Intense pressure and increased temperatures changed some of the rocks. In places, shale became slate and sandstone became quartzite.

By 286 million years ago, the Ouachitas were above sea level. Since their emergence from the ocean, weathering and erosion have been disassembling the Ouachitas, robbing them of thousands of feet of elevation.

During the continental collision, hot fluids rich in silica flowed up through fractures in the uplifted stone. The quartz crystals for which the Ouachitas are famous precipitated from those fluids into veins within the rock, especially so in the sandstone of the Crystal Mountains. Nearby Mount Ida proclaims itself the "Quartz Crystal Capital of the World."

Leaving the picnic area, Collier Creek winds through the Ouachitas, dropping another 500 feet before flowing under Ark. 8 and into the Caddo River about a mile north of the Caddo Gap community. As the creek's waters were flowing downstream, the name "Collier" attached to the stream near its mouth and traveled the other way, upstream to the springs and the shale.

In 1812, Martin and Mary Belle Anderson Collier, natives of Tennessee and Kentucky respectively, settled in Montgomery County, soon moving to the lower valley of the creek that would be assigned their family name. A great-great grandson would later relate that Martin had become friends with the area's Caddo Indians as a result of his fiddle playing.

At the time they settled, the area was remote, with neither schools nor merchants. It was 30 miles to the nearest flour mill and 25 to the closest blacksmith.

In 1820, Mary gave birth to a son. Records indicate that Jefferson Collier was the first person of European descent to be born in the county.

Martin Collier died about two years later, leaving the widowed Mary with ten children to care for with her nearest neighbors several miles distant. Jefferson would one day recall that his mother once "knit a pair of socks from the wool which she picked from the head of a buffalo."

Jefferson would go on to marry and father 15 children of his own, educate himself, become a Civil War veteran and successful farmer and found two Masonic lodges. One of his sons, Harrison, would later serve multiple terms as the county's surveyor.

"My father was the first settler on (Collier) Creek," Jefferson recalled around 1890. "He shot a buffalo from his camp pole, and I now live within a mile of the same place."

Upstream at Collier Springs, it's easy to be reminded that their unique natural and human histories are what endow places -- each and every one of them -- with the power to fascinate.

To Get There: From U.S. 270 about six miles east of Mt. Ida and 30 miles west of Hot Springs, turn south onto Logan Gap Road. (The intersection is just west of the Mt. Ida-Bearce Airport.) Follow Logan Gap to its intersection with Road 177, turn right onto 177, then follow the brown Forest Service signs to Collier Springs. While the gravel 177 is rough in spots, two-wheel drive vehicles are sufficient in dry weather.

If You Go: Remember the rule of thumb for keeping natural places intact for visitors who will follow: Leave only footprints, take only photographs.

Area Information: The Mt. Ida Area Chamber of Commerce provides information on campgrounds and lodging (including resorts on nearby Lake Ouachita), restaurants, crystal shops and mines, canoe outfitters on the Caddo and Ouachita Rivers and other attractions on its Internet site at www.mtidachamber.com. The chamber can be contacted by phone at (870) 867-2723, by mail at P.O. Box 6, Mt. Ida AR 71957 and by e-mail at mountida@ipa.net.

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Submitted by the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism
One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201, (501) 682-7606
E-mail: info@arkansas.com

May be used without permission. Credit line is appreciated:
"Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism"