Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas
The site was developed by the Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Gulf Railroad as a summer resort for the affluent in the last years of the 19th century. Hopes were that the new resort would soon rival popular summer destinations of the rich such as the Rocky Mountains and Saratoga Springs. Although the first name given to the project dubbed the hotel “The Mount Mena Inn”, the name was soon changed to honor Holland’s reigning monarch – Queen Wilhelmina.
Developers hoped that the Queen would come to the United States to visit her namesake hotel but the visit never materialized. Despite her absence, the three story lodge opened with a gala ball on the evening of June 22, 1898 with a live orchestra. The dining room seated up to 300 guests at one time and the massive ovens in the kitchens could bake as many as 500 biscuits at one time. The original Queen Wilhelmina Lodge offered every Victorian ammenity – stables with both fine horses and sure-footed burros that could navigate the crude mountain trails, croquet courts, and gaslight. Servants were available on site for the ladies who left their own staff at home. Domestic flowers from the hotel’s gardens mingled with wildflower blossoms in the daily bouquets that decorated the dining tables and the meals served were the finest cuisine. Guests arrived from as far distant as Kansas City to spend the summer in the cool, quiet mountain retreat.
After a few seasons, however, the inn closed. A century later, the reason is uncertain but factors include possible financial troubles for the railroad, that other more easy to access resorts drew crowds away, or that maintenance and repairs for the structure during harsh winter were too costly to continue. For whatever reason, however, the great hotel fell into disrepair. Local residents carried away many of the lavish furnishings and the lush growth of the mountain soon enroached upon the structure. Storms and winter weather damaged the building. Over the decades that followed, squatters lived in the ruins and during World War II, students from Shreveport, Louisiana’s Centenary College held a music schoool in a rebuilt portion of the hotel.
In the late 1950’s, after the last of Rich Mountain’s original pioneer settlers had departed, the state of Arkansas purchased the site as a new state park. Extensive work began to rebuild the lodge to its’ earlier glory and the repaired hotel opened on June 22, 1963, exactly sixty-five years from the original opening gala. The spot soon regained popularity and by the early 1970’s was a popular, well-known spot. A fire early on the morning of November 10, 1973 destroyed the lodge completely. All guests and staff were able to escape the blaze but little remained of the original Queen Wilhelmina.
A new lodge rose from the ashes, modern yet patterned after the design of the original lodge and opened by the mid-1970’s. Today, the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge is the focal point of a state park that also offers a campground and other attractions. The air remains cool and quiet on the top of Rich Mountain. The resort is reaching by a narrow, winding road – State Highway 88 – that climbs Rich Mountain to the summit. Frequent turnouts allow travelers to pause for the breaktaking views from the mountain. Hiking trails from the lodge wind through rugged terrain – one even leads to the water resovoir of the original hotel. Rich Mountain is located within the Ouachita National Forest – one of the nation’s most untouched natural wildernesses. Access to Lake Wilhelmina and several rivers in the region provide sport for fishermen. At the base of the mountain, the small city of Mena, Arkansas offers modern shopping, dining, and other conveniences.
The Queen’s Restaurant within the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge offers fine dining. The lobby features a massive stone fireplace that often features a fire even on summer evenings. A large meeting room is available and in addition to standard rooms, the Queen’s Room and Regent’s Room offer special ammenties. A gift shop within the hotel offers area and regional products. Booklets that detail the region and lodge’s history are also available.
The lodge is open year round but reservations are suggested for anyone seeking the peaceful solitutude and magnificent views found from the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge on Rich Mountain.
