While visiting Blackwater Falls State Park in Davis, West Virginia, we got chatting to a family who gave us a few suggestions of things to do in the area.
One of them was to visit Our Lady Of The Pines, a church that claims to be the smallest one in 48 states. We love visiting random, quirky things on our 50 state road trip, so after finishing at the falls we decided to check it out.
Our Lady Of The Pines is in Eglon, a small community about 20 minutes north of Blackwater Falls. It was a straightforward drive up there and there was a sign outside making it obvious where to turn when we arrived.
The church was very nice from the outside and had an additional building behind it – more about that shortly.
Out front there was a memorial for Peter and Elizabeth Milkint, a couple who appeared to be parents of some of the church’s congregants.
The church was open when we visited, although I’m not sure if it gets locked overnight. On the left when entering there was a small alcove which had a visitor book and postcards.
The church itself was extremely cute and in very good condition.
There were several stained glass windows on both sides of the church. These had names of people on them which seemed to indicate which pews they sit in.
The church has a plaque outside with its claim to be the smallest church in 48 states. That might have been true when it was first built, but there are now many other churches around the US claiming to be the smallest one. We visited one in Darien, Georgia a couple of years ago and that definitely felt like it was smaller than Our Lady Of The Pines. Even though it might no longer be the smallest, this church in Eglon, West Virginia is still very beautiful.
Smallest Mailing Office
Our Lady Of The Pines also has what they claim to be the Smallest Mailing Office out back, so you get two small buildings for the price of one. Well, more like for the price of none seeing as they’re both free to visit.
This is called a mailing office rather than a post office as it doesn’t provide any services that a post office provides.
You can drop your mail off here though, hence its title as a mailing office. The church has postcards, so come equipped with stamps so you can send one of those postcards during your visit.
Final Thoughts
Our Lady Of The Pines is a really cute church in Eglon, West Virginia. Even though it’s no longer the smallest church in 48 states, it’s still worth a quick visit if you’ll be at Blackwater Falls State Park or anywhere else in the Davis area.
Address
Our Lady Of The Pines, 101 Breedlove Rd, Eglon, WV 26716
[…] While chatting to the family earlier on, they suggested we visit Our Lady Of The Pines in Eglon. That’s a church that claims to be the smallest one in 48 states, so after finishing at the falls we drove over there – here’s more about our visit to Our Lady Of The Pines. […]