  In my opinion, the man most closely associated with Eureka Springs in a business and political way during the past half century is the Hon. Claude A. Fuller. He has always had the interests of his hometown at heart and his leadership is outstanding. Born in Springhill, Illinois January 20, 1876, he came westward with his parents when a young lad and, at the age of fifteen, settled at Eureka Springs. His first job was with pick and shovel at Sanitarium Lake, now Lake Lucerne. When the street car line was constructed from the Auditorium (now Harmon Playgrounds) to the Basin Spring, he was employed as waterboy. He carried all the spikes that coupled the rails. Upon completion of the line he became mule driver, then conductor. Later he was the attorney for the road. Claude attended the Eureka Springs High School and graduated in the class of 1896. He decided upon law as his profession, attended the Kent Law School at Chicago and was admitted to the bar in 1898. On December 25, 1899, he married Miss May Obenshain, his hometown sweetheart. The Fullers have had three children; a son who died in infancy, and two daughters, Ruth Marie (Mrs. John S. Cross), and Dorothy M. (Mrs. Pat Mathews). They have five grandchildren. Mr. Fuller began his official career as city clerk at Eureka Springs in 1898 and served four years. He was then elected state representative for Carroll County and served from 1902 to 1906. In 1907, he was elected mayor of Eureka Springs by a handsome majority. He served in this capacity until 1910, and again from 1920 until 1928. During his terms of office many improvements were made in the city such as the building of the municipal auditorium, the extending of the dam at the city reservoir, the erection of filter basins, and the extension of water and sewer mains. He served four years as prosecuting attorney (1910-1914). During all these years, Mr. Fuller was ambitious to represent his district in Congress. He tried in 1914, but was defeated by a small margin. In 1928 he was successful and served ten years as Congressman. He was a member of the Ways and Means Committee which is one of the powerful committees of the House. Through his efforts Lake Leatherwood was built as a government project. In 1938 he returned to his private practice of law at Eureka Springs and has kept his office open ever since. He is one of the best known attorneys in Arkansas. Claude A. Fuller’s rise in the business world was rapid. He was a good trader and knew how to invest his money. He and his brother purchased the Eureka Springs Railway which they held for one year and sold for a profit of $10,000. In 1925, he purchased the Crescent Hotel which he held for four years and sold. In 1926 he became owner of the Basin Park Hotel but sold it when he went to Congress. In the banking business, he became president of the Bank of Eureka Springs, a position he still holds. His pet project is his ranch on White River where he raises thorobred white face cattle. Mr. Fuller is a member of the Baptist Church, belongs to the Elks Fraternity, and is an active Rotarian. In 1951, Frank L. Beals published a biography of Claude Fuller entitled, “Backwood’s Baron.” Mr. Beals said: “In Claude’s realistic approach to life, the law, and politics go hand in hand. He never aspired to purify any of the three, he just took them as he found them and bent them to his own purposes. He never swam against the current, he floated with it, taking advantage of the flotsam and jetsam that were going his way to make secure his own passage.” Mr. Fuller has received many honors during his long, eventful life. One that he is especially proud of is the Distinguished Citizenship Award presented to him by the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce on March 31, 1951, in recognition of his efficient service as a director of the organization. The award is signed by the Awards Committee: Harry Wilk, Dwight O. Nichols, Joe A. Morris, Paul Smart, Cecil Maberry and Richard Thompson. At the end of the book, “Backwood’s Baron,” Mr. Beals says: “Oliver Wendell Holmes (Jr.) in a radio address on his ninetieth birthday, might well have been speaking of Claude Albert Fuller when he said: ‘The riders in a race do not stop short when they reach the goal. There is a little finishing canter before coming to a standstill. There is time to hear the kind voice of friends and to say to one’s self, ‘Thy work is done.’ But just as one says that, the answer comes: ‘The race is over, but the work never is done while the power to work remains.’ The canter that brings you to a standstill need not be only coming to rest. It cannot be, while you still live. For to live is to function. That is all there is in living.’” |
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