The
Arkansas Historic Preservation Program together with the
White County Historical Society hosted a 'Walk Through History' tour at the Smyrna Church and Cemetery last Saturday.
The church, located 6 miles west of Searcy, is the oldest documented church building in Arkansas. Tree ring dating was used to determine 1857 as the date of construction, making it one of the state's handful of antebellum churches.
The church saw numerous changes over the years and efforts are underway to restore it to 1915 standards, the date of the building's earliest known photograph. A few modern conveniences such as a restroom, central heating & air, and a wheelchair ramp will be inconspicuously installed as well.
Gable ends, ridge cresting, and a bell-steeple are all newly added features that return the church to the way it looked after those Queen Anne-style elements were added in the 1890s.
An original scrolled gable end was on display.
The cemetery dates back to 1850s as well and features many names familiar to White County residents of today. There are a number of curious anonymous markers, too, such as this one.
Check out the
AHPP website for the new 2010 Walk Through History schedule. The tours are well worth the drive. And folks in and around Little Rock will want to check out their Sandwiching in History tours.
Thanks to Rachel Silva of AHPP & Bill Leach of WCHS.
This church is only two years old. Next door is the St. James built in 1966, and the parish occupied two previous church buildings in Searcy dating back to 1928.
The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program together with the White County Historical Society hosted a 'Walk Through History' tour at the Smyrna Church and Cemetery last Saturday. 
Gable ends, ridge cresting, and a bell-steeple are all newly added features that return the church to the way it looked after those Queen Anne-style elements were added in the 1890s.
An original scrolled gable end was on display.
The cemetery dates back to 1850s as well and features many names familiar to White County residents of today. There are a number of curious anonymous markers, too, such as this one.
a vibrant little church
An entryway to a small inner-city church. You do see a lot of intermingling of blond brick with giraffe rock in this part of the state, in homes and churches alike. What's unusual here, though, is the jigsawing of the two techniques. Some mason really pulled out all the stops on this one.
crazy quilt window surround
Someone's been working on the bell tower of this 106 year old church.
Nice transom window.
A lot of nice architectural features in this church, built in 1872. The sanctuary was built to seat 400 at a time when Searcy's entire population was 600.
Here's another overglaze application over a tracery window. Unlike the Morrilton Baptist church window in the last post, this one utilizes all straight lines.
