If you’re hungry for a taste of mountain life from a simpler time, point your car toward Horse Cove on a summer Sunday evening and step inside Little Church in the Wildwood.
Tucked into the cove, the one-room wooden chapel feels like a survivor from another era – the sort of small community church that once dotted these mountains.
Built in 1945 from chestnut lumber hewn from nearby Forest Service land and moved to the site by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the church came to life through the volunteer labor of Horse Cove residents including John Edwards, John Norris, Les Mizner and others. With the exception of the two Covid-19 summers, it has welcomed worshippers every year since.
For six-and-a-half days each week, Little Church in the Wildwood rests quietly among the trees. But at 6:50 P.M. every Sunday from Memorial Day through Labor Day, an old dinner bell rings through the valley, calling people in. Ten minutes later, the church fills with voices as neighbors, summer residents and visitors gather for a hymn sing that is equal parts worship service, community tradition and joyful time capsule.
There are no sermons and no lengthy formalities – just the familiar structure of song, reverence and participation. The congregation sings from the 1938 Cokesbury Worship Hymnal, and each guest is invited to choose a favorite hymn for the evening. The service concludes, as it always does, with “How Great Thou Art,” sung with the kind of full-hearted enthusiasm that makes even first-time visitors feel as though they belong.
That sense of belonging is part of what makes the little church so enduring. It has no denominational affiliation, no membership requirement and no barrier to entry beyond a willingness to join in.
Leadership is entirely volunteer, giving the service just enough structure while preserving its homespun spirit.
In recent years, the building itself has received some loving care. Since Covid, the original floor has been refurbished, mold remediated, windows repaired, and the surrounding shrubs cut back, thanks to local donations and a GoFundMe campaign. Those improvements have helped preserve not just a structure, but a ritual: one hour on a Sunday evening when the past feels vividly present.
Services begin promptly at 7:00 P.M. and end at 8:00 P.M. Everyone is welcome.
Favorites Count: 0