Arno Community/Wesley Chapel Methodist Church

Arno Community/Wesley Chapel Methodist Church. . , Arno Community , Arno was named by a U.S. Postal official after a river in Italy. The name has long outlasted the post office, which closed in 1908. Arno had a public school from 1893 until 1947. At the crossroads there was a country store built in 1893 by Magistrate E. K. “Lige” Smithson. It was operated in later years by Earl Culberson, E.E. "Red” Jordan, Frank Howard, James Culberson, Fred Hughes, Bob Sledge, and Milton Ryan, before it burned in 1982. The community was also served by Dr. Lowe and Dr. W. W. Graham, and by C.R. Pennington, a veterinarian and blacksmith. Other historic family names of the area include Burns, Crite, Crunk, Esmond, Frost, Harmon, Hatcher, Lillard, Miller, Petway, Pinkston, Robinson, Rucker, and White. , Wesley Chapel Methodist Church , The Wesley Chapel Methodist Church was established in 1834 by “The Four Billys" - William Rucker, William Burns, William Hatcher, and William Lanier. The building of homemade brick on Owen Hill Road was dedicated on May 24, 1835. In 1907 this building was torn down and a new building started in Arno on land deeded from the Rucker family. The new wood frame building was dedicated on May 24, 1908. The church's first annual ice cream supper was held in 1956 to raise money for the educational wing, which was dedicated in 1960. The wooden sanctuary was replaced in 1963 with the current brick structure. The steeple was dedicated on Jan. 16, 1983. Wesley Chapel UMC remains a strong part of the ever-changing Arno community.