Natural State Snapshot

January 22-28, 2018

Photo by Kay Bona

 

Known as the oldest church building in Arkansas, Smyrna Methodist Church was founded in 1856 in White County. During restoration, a white oak stump was discovered beneath the structure, in a well preserved state. After experts from the U of A Tree Ring Laboratory in Fayetteville studied the samples taken from the building and the tree stump, it was determined that lumber used in building the church came from the white oak stump, as well as several other trees from the immediate area. Some of the logs that were used in the construction of the church started growing as trees between 1614 and 1638. The oldest log in the church was 242 years old when it was cut down back in 1856. (www.searcy.com.)