Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
“Smyrna Methodist Church is a historic church in rural White County, Arkansas. It is located west of Searcy, on Jaybird Lane just south of Arkansas Highway 36.”
Wikipedia article Smyrna Methodist Church, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 203 National Register listings published here for White County · listed in 1992 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 51 fires within 5 miles of Smyrna Methodist Church between 1997 and 2020, burning about 974 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 11 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 20 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 11 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 1997 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 19 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | 7.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 August 2008 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 August 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 August 2006 | Debris and open burning | 30 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 August 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 August 2000 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Smyrna Methodist Church: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unk | Clay | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Center Hill, the town this property stands in, in 19 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 8 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 2 heavy rain. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2010 | Tornado (EF1) | Center Hill | 2 hurt, $950,000 | Emergency management reports indicated one home and two mobile homes were destroyed, three homes received major damage, and 16 homes received minor damage. Two chicken houses had roof damage. One business, which repaired cars and farm equipment, was destroyed. A fire station and church suffered damage. Trees and power lines were knocked down. Two people received minor injuries. |
| May 2008 | Tornado (EF1) | Center Hill | $25,000 | Some trees were knocked down, one of which fell on a van. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center Hill | - | Large tree limbs were blown down near the town of Center Hill. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center Hill | - | Some limbs were downed north of Center Hill. |
| March 2020 | Heavy Rain | Center Hill | - | A trained spotter estimated two inches of rain fell near Center Hill. |
| April 2020 | Hail | Center Hill | - | Ping pong ball size hail fell, and winds were estimated at 70 mph. |
| April 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center Hill | - | A storm spotter estimated winds of 70 mph in Center Hill. |
| August 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center Hill | - | Limbs were blown down near Center Hill. |
| September 2009 | Heavy Rain | Center Hill | - | A resident of Center Hill measured 8.10 inches of rain in 21 hours. |
| September 2005 | Tornado (F2) | Center Hill | - | A strong tornado was spawned on White County 5 miles to the southeast of Center Hill. The tornado moved to the northwest around the remnants of Hurricane Rita. Winds with the tornado were estimated to be about 155 mph. The tornado destroyed a house, welding shop and a mobile home. A church, as well as a number of other houses and mobile homes sustained heavy damage. Numerous trees and power lines were also downed along the path of the tornado. The tornado was on the ground close to 9 miles before lifting northwest of Center Hill. |
| May 2003 | Tornado (F2) | Center Hill | - | A strong tornado was spawned roughly 1 mile west of Center Hill. The tornado moved northeast, with several large trees uprooted or snapped. There was damage to roofs of some structures, with barns and outbuildings damaged as well. The tornado dissipated about 4 miles northeast of Center Hill. |
| April 2022 | Hail | Center Hill | - | no account filed |
| April 2022 | Hail | Center Hill | - | no account filed |
| March 2011 | Hail | Center Hill | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Center Hill | - | no account filed |
| April 2003 | Hail | Center Hill | - | no account filed |
| December 2002 | Hail | Center Hill | - | no account filed |
| March 2001 | Hail | Center Hill | - | no account filed |
| April 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center Hill | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Titan II ICBM Launch Complex 373-5 Site | 0.6 miles | 2000 |
| Morris Institute Dairy Barn | 1.8 miles | 1992 | |
| Critz, Col. John, Farm, Springhouse | 2.6 miles | 1992 | |
| Burnett House | 4.0 miles | 1992 | |
 | Gray House | 4.4 miles | 1992 |
 | Gray-Kincaid House | 4.8 miles | 1992 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 91001336 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| White County | All 203 listed properties in this county. |
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