Hogscald as Community Center
With the enchanting church service beneath Auger Falls and a reputation for unsurpassed natural beauty, news of Hogscald's "divine favor" soon spread across the Ozark hills. During the fall, families would travel for miles to this new community center, where one could meet new neighbors and swap war stories of the "Johnny Rebs", while collectively butchering hogs, canning fruits, and making traditional Ozark favorites like applebutter and sorghum molasses. Regular visitors to the area included the Harp, Vaughn, Dutton, and Evans families of Eureka Springs.
Hogs were turned loose in the woods, and each year the early families
would hunt and kill enough for that particular winter. Cora Pinkley-Call later recalled that, "No one ever thought of feeding hogs to fatten them."
Dead-end canyons near the edge of the falls aided in their capture, and the infamous "scalds" proved their usefulness time and time again.
As horseback riding grew in popularity over the years, nearby Camp Revilo offered rides into Hogscald, and the majestic Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs also organized group sightseeing tours to the area. Although it remained more of an "Ozark secret" than many other local attractions, few visits to Eureka Springs were complete without a lovely picnic in Hog Scald Hollow.
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The Origins of Hogscald The Church at Hogscald Hogscald Today |
Hogscald During the Civil War Uncle Jap's Whiskey Coup |
