Smyrna Church

Just outside of Searcy is the Smyrna Church, which holds the claim as the oldest documented church building in the state. The one room Greek-revival church was built in 1856, and is one of only a few churches that are still standing in the state that were built before the Civil War.



According to local legend, in the early 1800s there weren't many churches built in the area so the many different congregations would share a "union church." Each week, a different congregation (like the Baptists, Presbyterians and Methodists) would each take turns leading the sermons. One week, the preacher giving the sermon announced that the Methodists weren't going to heaven (which is a little rude). So in response, the Methodists left the union church and decided to build their own, thus creating the Smyrna Church. The church was in use until the 1970s, and was then donated to the city of Searcy. The church was been fully restored and preserved, and can even be rented out for weddings.