Here the implausible yields to history, as the hotel was, for a few years anyhow, a distinguished college and conservatory for young women. From 1908 until 1924 the hotel bolstered its summer tourist revenue by becoming a destination boarding school for the edification of American womanhood. According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, an early advertisement in Cosmopolitan magazine reads as follows:
“Crescent College and Conservatory for Women. On top of the Ozarks. Famous for healthfulness and beauty of location. $300,000 fireproof building. Rooms with private bath. Elevator. Accredited Junior College. General courses; art, music, expression, domestic science.”
But there’s no evidence that any fallen or falling woman was a student.
* * *
On the fourth floor, in what used to be the faculty lounge, is now a small museum and library where the history of this place is made vivid. Historian and artist and storyteller Rebecca Becker keeps the memory of the conservatory days alive. There are exhibits and display cases and even a small stage. And Keith Scales.
