Historic Twin Springs Park

In the late nineteenth century, Siloam Springs in Benton County, Arkansas, was named after the spring waters believed to have healing qualities, including those at Twin Springs Park, and was promoted as a health resort. While people nowadays no longer visit Twin Springs Park for medicinal purposes, it has been a community gathering place for 100 years. Despite its unique historical significance, the park has experienced gradual disrepair over the years and no longer serves as a destination for people to take in the natural beauty of the springs. With a deteriorating floor, crumbling wall, and an adjacent gazebo that has chipped paint and a muddy base, the springs have been closed off to the public for nearly a decade. 

A Community Placemaking Grant by the Walton Family Foundation will help prepare for future infrastructural improvements. In partnership with Project for Public Spaces, the City of Siloam Springs will experiment with new programming aimed at reimagining traditional expectations and expanding the possibilities for how the public can interact with the springs. The engagement process will explore how the city can support self-led uses and new activities in the park and along the waterway, to reunite the Siloam Springs community with its namesake.

In November 2024, Project for Public Spaces’ Placemaking team started working with the City of Siloam Springs, one of three Northwest Arkansas grantees, to organize visioning sessions with their respective communities, before conceptualizing an activation plan, designing, construction, and programmatic implementation. Projects are expected to be completed by October 2025. 

Check back to see this space transform!

Click here to learn more about Community Placemaking Grants.