In the era before air conditioning, the Arkansas Ozarks enticed those battling heat, humidity and mosquitoes in Memphis. Hardy became a retreat for wealthy Memphians after 1908. That's the year a Memphis physician named George Gillespie Buford and his wife were stranded there when their train experienced mechanical problems.
To pass the time, the couple climbed a hill on the south bank of the Spring River. They were charmed by the place. Within a year, they had purchased 50 acres and built a summer cottage. By 1912, the Memphis doctor had constructed 10 cottages, which he marketed as Wahpeton Inn.
Soon, Memphis residents determined that their children also needed a reason to spend part of each summer in Arkansas. In 1916, the Boy Scouts built Camp Kia Kima and the YMCA established Camp Miramichee. In 1920, the Girl Scouts started Camp Kiwani.
The next Memphis-area resident to have a major influence on the area was West Memphis businessman John Cooper Sr., who purchased 400 acres along the south bank of the Spring River near the mouth of Otter Creek in 1948. He named it Otter Creek Ranch and used it as a summer retreat for his family. In 1953, Cooper saw the potential for attracting retirees from the Midwest to these hills. He formed Cherokee Village Development Co. and began dividing his property into lots.
When the retirement community now known as Cherokee Village opened in 1955, Gov. Orval Faubus called it "the coming Mecca of the Ozarks."
"By 1961, retirees from across the United States relocated to the Spring River area, transforming Cherokee Village into a popular retirement center," writes Memphis historian Wayne Dowdy. "Cooper's development company opened Bella Vista in northwest Arkansas in 1967. Three years later, it opened Hot Springs Village. Construction of these three communities established Arkansas as one of the most important retirement destinations in the United States."
Two golf courses, seven lakes, three recreation centers, a water and sewer system, and 350 miles of roads were built at Cherokee Village.
"Less than 10 years after the town's founding, Cherokee Village had grown so much that additional land was necessary to satisfy the demand for new homes," Dowdy writes. "However, adjoining land was occupied by the Memphis Boy Scout council's summer camp, Kia Kima. In 1964, Cooper approached the Boy Scouts and offered to give them a larger tract of land on the South Fork of the Spring River in exchange for their property. The Memphis youth organization relented after Cooper agreed to construct new buildings."
For several years, Mark Kruger has been asking me to join him for a tour of what's now known as Old Kia Kima. I've finally met him at the site to see what's up.
"We take a great deal of pride in what has been accomplished," Kruger says. "After the buyout, the camp fell into ruin. That's when some folks decided to resurrect Kia Kima by forming a nonprofit organization that provides a camp for youth groups at no charge. This includes not only Scout groups but also church groups, children's homes and others.
"We're essentially a conglomerate of volunteers that includes men and women who attended or worked at Miramichee, Kiwani and Kia Kima. Our members come from across the country and give their time and money to ensure that young people can enjoy a camp experience."
The camp, founded just six years after the Boy Scouts reached the United States, is on a bluff overlooking the South Fork. The name Kia Kima is a Chickasaw word meaning "nest of eagles." The founding Memphis Boy Scout organization was the Chickasaw Council.
After the last Boy Scout sessions at the camp in the summer of 1963, the property was abandoned. Cooper, it turns out, never used the land. In 1996, the Old Kia Kima Preservation Association was incorporated. Volunteers cleaned up the site while raising money for improvements. The restored camp sits in a corner of the original 160-acre property and consists of 16 native stone-and-wood cabins. There's also Thunderbird Lodge, which houses a museum.
According to the Old Kia Kima Preservation Association's history of the project: "The property was soon surrounded by the advancing development of retirement and resort properties. Weather and age took their toll on the wooden-roof structures and support beams. By the early 1990s, cabin roofs were caved in and the remaining stone-base foundation mortar was beginning to deteriorate.
"The property became an eyesore due to its use as a dumping site for trash and used appliances. Evidence of vandalism was apparent. In the summer of 1993, four former camp staff members visited the site. Two of those members, David Fleming and Gordon "Scotty" Monteath, returned in 1994. They were joined this time by Roy Riddick, John Hurt and Lofton "Buddy" Keltner.
"Tangles of trees and vines grew up from the decayed wood on the floors. Old refrigerators and discarded washing machines littered the grounds. All were appalled at the deterioration of the property and its misuse through the years. The camp lay in ruins."
In 1998, Boyce and George Billingsley purchased and then donated 43 acres that had been the core of the old camp. A bathhouse was constructed and restoration began on the 16 cabins in the spring of 1999. By the fall of 2000, cabins were fully restored and work started on Thunderbird Lodge, the centerpiece of the camp.
Old Kia Kima lived again, ready to serve a new generation of children.
Senior Editor Rex Nelson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.