First Methodist Episcopal Church, South

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

From the record

“First Methodist Episcopal Church, South is a historic church at 503 West Commercial Street in Ozark, Arkansas. It is a stone structure, with a steeply pitched gable roof and a pair of square stone towers flanking the front-facing gable end.”
Wikipedia article First Methodist Episcopal Church, South (Ozark, Arkansas), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 22 National Register listings published here for Franklin County · listed in 1992 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 503 W. Commercial St., Ozark, 72949
When was it listed? September 1992
Category. building
Township. White Oak township
National Register reference number. 92001154 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

Fires near this property

81 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 81 fires within 5 miles of First Methodist Episcopal Church, South between 1997 and 2019, burning about 905 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 16 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	28
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	24
Arson/incendiarism	16
Natural	4
Equipment and vehicle use	4
Misuse of fire by a minor	3
Smoking	1
Railroad operations and maintenance	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 2001	Debris and open burning	6.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
6 September 2001	Debris and open burning	2.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
30 September 2005	Natural	15 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
16 September 2000	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	9.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
12 September 2005	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
7 August 2011	Misuse of fire by a minor	3.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
6 August 2006	Natural	7.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named
4 August 2006	Natural	1.0 acres	Arkansas Forestry Commission	not named

Every fire recorded in Franklin County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of First Methodist Episcopal Church, South: 8 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Flagstone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Chrisman Rock Quarry	Flagstone	Past Producer
Unk	Stone	Past Producer
Unk	Stone	Past Producer
Gutrie Island	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unk	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unk	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unk	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unk	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unk	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
White Oak Creek Pit & Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer

Every working recorded in Franklin County

Storms near this property

60 of 187 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ozark, the town this property stands in, in 187 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 92 thunderstorm wind, 75 hail, 12 flash flood, 3 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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 1999	Hail	Ozark	$600,000	Just south of Ozark, golfball to baseball-sized hail fell, while quarter to golfball-sized hail fell and covered the ground just north of Ozark.There were widespread reports of damage to vehicles and to roofs on homes and other structures.
October 2000	Hail	Ozark	$250,000	no account filed
October 2009	Flash Flood	Ozark	$125,000	Thunderstorms moving repeatedly over extreme southern and eastern Franklin County produced 2 to 4 inches of rain, which resulted in flooding of rural roads. Portions of some roads were washed out. Water rescues were conducted as motorists became stranded in flood water.
May 2015	Flash Flood	Ozark	$75,000	Significant street flooding off of Highway 64. Flood water entered several businesses.
April 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$50,000	Thunderstorm winds damaged several turkey and chicken houses.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$30,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 80 miles an hour did structural damage to a house.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$30,000	Widespread wind damage occurred across the southern part of Franklin County. One barn was destroyed and a tree fell into a house. Several trees were blown down.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$25,000	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down a large tree onto a mobile home, causing severe damage.
September 2009	Flash Flood	Ozark	$25,000	Heavy rain caused flooding in and near Ozark. There was damage to the Ozark Motel and Hillbilly Quick Stop.
September 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$25,000	Thunderstorm winds did extensive damage to poultry houses and a barn. A large tree was also blown down.
November 1998	Tornado (F0)	Ozark	$25,000	A brief F0 tornado touched down just north of the Arkansas River. Two houses received minor damage, and numerous trees and power lines were blown down.
June 1998	Lightning	Ozark	$25,000	Lightning destroyed the big motor that operates Ozark's water system at City Lake. City workers had to operate the pump manually for several days to provide residents with their water supply.
May 2011	Hail	Ozark	$25,000	no account filed
April 2023	Hail	Ozark	$20,000	Golf ball size hail damaged vehicles and homes.
April 2023	Hail	Ozark	$20,000	Half dollar size hail damaged homes and vehicles.
July 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$15,000	Strong thunderstorm wind damaged the roofs of several homes.
August 2013	Hail	Ozark	$15,000	no account filed
September 2009	Hail	Ozark	$15,000	no account filed
June 2010	Lightning	Ozark	$10,000	Lightning struck the Forest Service Headquarters, damaging radio and computer equipment.
October 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$10,000	Strong thunderstorm wind gusts to 88 mph were measured by storm spotters. The wind snapped power poles, damaged a slaughter house, and blew down trees.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down tree limbs and power lines.
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated near 80 miles an hour uprooted several trees, destroyed a portable carport and damaged outbuildings and fences.
November 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew the roof off a building.
January 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds damaged a chicken house and a barn. Several trees were also blown down.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees and tree limbs all over the city of Ozark. The winds shattered windows in the Faith Addition on North 25th and 26th Streets, the city's second-largest subdivision. The Franklin County OES Director reported numerous trees blown down countywide with numerous reports of dime to nickel-sized hail.
March 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$10,000	no account filed
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power lines.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm wind damaged the roof of a house on Cataberry Run Road.
May 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm wind snapped large tree limbs and blew down power lines.
March 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm wind damaged two homes.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm wind damaged the roof of a home.
August 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power lines.
September 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 80 miles an hour uprooted a tree and overturned farm equipment.
November 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour damaged the roof of a metal building.
June 1998	Hail	Ozark	$5,000	Baseball-sized hail damged a house and its awnings.
November 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds damaged a trailer.
November 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds knocked down some trees.
May 2010	Hail	Ozark	$5,000	no account filed
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$4,000	Strong thunderstorm wind blew over a trailer and damaged vehicles due to flying debris.
May 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$2,000	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power lines and snapped large tree limbs.
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$2,000	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down trees and power lines.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$2,000	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down some utility lines along Highway 64 east of Ozark.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down trees and power lines.
September 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds did damage to outbuilding two miles northeast of Mulberry near the Crawford-Franklin county line.
December 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds blew down several large trees between Mulberry in Crawford county and Ozark in Franklin county. The report came from the forrest service.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$500	Thunderstorm winds blew down a few limbs.
January 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$300	Thunderstorm winds blew down trees.
April 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$100	Thunderstorm winds blew down a large tree limb.
October 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$100	Thunderstorm winds blew trees down onto Highway 64.
July 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$100	Thunderstorm winds blew down trees.
February 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$100	A large tree was blown onto AR Hwy 23 north of Ozark, blocking traffic for part of the night.
April 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	$100	Large limbs were blown out of trees.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	-	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down multiple trees.
February 2023	Flood	Ozark	-	Multiple low-lying areas were flooded across the county.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	-	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down a few trees.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	-	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down trees.
May 2021	Flash Flood	Ozark	-	Portions of Highway 64 near White Oak Creek, west of Ozark, were flooded.
December 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	-	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down small trees in and around town.
March 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Ozark	-	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down trees.

Every storm recorded in Franklin County

Map coverage status

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.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

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.

Property	Distance	Listed
Franklin County Courthouse	0.2 miles	1995
Ozark Courthouse Square Historic District	0.2 miles	2002
Franklin County Jail	0.2 miles	1982
Bristow Hotel	0.2 miles	1999
Missouri-Pacific Depot-Ozark	0.3 miles	1992
Merle Whitman Tourist Cabin	0.4 miles	2006

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 92001154 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Franklin County	All 22 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.