Mountain Village 1890

About a dozen historic Ozark buildings from the 1800s were relocated to Bull Shoals in the 1960s to create this living history village preserving frontier mountain life.

Mountain Village 1890 sits on roughly two and a half acres within the city limits of Bull Shoals, Arkansas -- a reconstructed Ozark settlement where buildings dating to the early nineteenth century have been reassembled to recreate life in the Ozarks during what founder Roy Danuser called "a happy time." After the completion of Bull Shoals Lake, the local attorney and businessman saw the combination of a natural cave system and a historic mountain village as a sound investment. Starting in 1958, Danuser and his collaborators spent months scouring the region by airplane and automobile, searching for abandoned churches, schools, country stores, and dwellings that could be purchased and relocated. The village opened to visitors in May 1960, featuring nine main historic structures and additional outbuildings, all brought from sites across the Ozark mountain region.

The oldest and most paranormally active building is the Martin House, originally constructed in the woods just north of Jasper, Arkansas in 1836 -- making it nearly two centuries old. The spirit of an eight-year-old girl named Amanda haunts this structure. Her laughter has been heard echoing through the rooms, and toys left for her by visitors are found disturbed and played with. One group of visitors reportedly witnessed her tossing a ball. She has appeared in photographs, and at least one visitor reported feeling a cold spot materialize as Amanda manifested and physically touched him.

The church building, constructed in 1888 on the Arkansas side of Blue Eye and still containing its original pews and Bible, hosts its own collection of unexplained phenomena. Visitors hear pacing footsteps inside, the sound of a woman sobbing, and banjo strings being tuned when no instrument is present. A disembodied hand has been felt grasping visitors inside the church. During a storm, one witness group saw a woman dressed entirely in white standing near the church, staring directly at them -- fully aware of their presence rather than appearing as a residual haunting repeating past events.

The general store, built in Buford, Arkansas in 1889, is associated with the spirit of former store owner George Nelson, who reportedly maintains surveillance over his merchandise. Visitors frequently describe an overwhelming sensation of being watched while browsing the store's displays. In the courtyard near the bank building -- constructed in Ash Flat in 1881 and kept in operation until 1935 when the state banking department ruled banks could not be built of wood -- the Lady in Red makes her appearances. Wearing a red dress, gloves, and a matching hat, she is described by witnesses as fully corporeal, appearing as solid as a living person, gliding past before vanishing without a trace.

A prankster entity known as Stompy trails visitors with heavy footsteps that can be heard but never sourced, and has developed a particular fondness for pulling people's hair. A Night Watchman figure has been seen patrolling outside the Colonel's house carrying a dimmed lantern. In the blacksmith shop, visitors encounter phantom smells of manure, tobacco, and vanilla, and overhear conversations between unseen figures, some in what appear to be military uniforms. The jail cell produces unexplained knocking and banging sounds. The doctor's office has yielded photographs showing medical tools apparently covered in blood that appeared clean to the naked eye.

Tour guide William Fleming has documented paranormal activity using camera equipment. His infrared-triggered camera recorded the sound of advancing footsteps approaching the sensor when no visible person was present. Fleming's accounts and the village's growing reputation for paranormal activity have made Mountain Village 1890 a destination for ghost enthusiasts alongside history buffs, with visitors drawn to a place where relocated buildings apparently brought their original occupants along for the move.