Wonderland Cave, Cave in Bella Vista, Arkansas.
Wonderland Cave is the largest cave in northwestern Arkansas, entered on Dartmoor Road in Bella Vista, northeast of Bella Vista Lake and east of US Route 71. About 300 feet into the cave lies a cavernous space fitted with a stage for musicians, a bar, and wood and stone booths.
Wonderland Cave was first documented in 1868 and purchased in 1917. Clarence A. Linebarger developed it and opened a nightclub inside on March 1, 1930, with a stage, bar and booths 300 feet in. The Arkansas General Assembly met there in 1931, and from 1935 Linebarger made wine in the cave. It closed as a nightclub in 1960, was leased to Cooper Communities in 1965, served as a bomb shelter in 1968, briefly reopened as a rock-n-roll club in 1988, closed in 1995, and was acquired by the Walton Enterprise group in 2019.
The nightclub opened on March 1, 1930, with a stage for musicians, a bar and wood-and-stone booths set 300 feet inside the cave. In 1935 Clarence A. Linebarger began making wine in the cave, sold as "Belle of Bella Vista and Wonderland".
The cave sits on Dartmoor Road in Bella Vista, northeast of Bella Vista Lake and east of US Route 71. It has not operated as a nightclub since 1995, and ownership passed to the Walton Enterprise group in 2019. Access is not open to visitors; the site is privately held.
In 1931 the Arkansas State General Assembly held an official legislative session inside the cave chamber. This unusual governmental gathering demonstrates the site's importance beyond its role as an entertainment venue.
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