EDEN, Wyoming — Along U.S. Highway 191 stands a little log church that looks as though it has occupied this windswept landscape since the days of wagon trains.
Oregon Trail Memorial Episcopal Church is not quite that old. A local carpenter built the log church between 1937 and 1938 in a revival of vernacular frontier style. It was intended as both a house of worship and a memorial to the pioneers who crossed the continent.
The church reminds me of Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Though far smaller and humbler than that landmark, both are Episcopal churches that turn consequential chapters of American history into sacred space.
The little church in Eden (population 235) also recalls the wayside chapels erected across medieval Europe. Christians traveling long distances, often on pilgrimage, could stop, pray and continue their journey. This church serves a similar purpose beside a modern highway.
The church is open year-round. Visitors can pull open the door and pass through the narthex, where they are invited to sign a guestbook. I counted about 40 entries over the previous nine months.
Inside, the nave is simple but beautiful and unmistakably Episcopal. Copies of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer rest in the pews. Tucked along a side wall is a bookshelf containing dusty copies of the old 1940 Hymnal.
While the church memorializes the pioneers who traveled westward in wagons and with handcarts, it also testifies to the faith that followed them.
Missionaries crossed the same overland trails, giving witness to the faith once delivered. They established missions, schools and churches. Many belonged to the mainline Protestant denominations — Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregationalist — that dominated American religious life in the 19th century.
And despite the historic feel, this is still a consecrated church.
Of course, there is the proverbial elephant in the room.
Does today’s Episcopal Church take pride in that pioneering past? Or would the theological left that now dominates much of the denomination apologize for bringing Christianity west?
Regardless, the Oregon Trail Memorial Episcopal Church is a visible reminder that America’s religious heritage cannot be separated from American history.
That history is written across the landscape at nearby South Pass.
This broad opening through the Rocky Mountains, at 7,412 feet in elevation, made overland migration possible. Instead of confronting an impassable wall of peaks, pioneers before the railroad crossed the Continental Divide on trails leading to California, Oregon and the Mormon territory in Utah. Stagecoaches and Pony Express riders followed the same corridor.
Most visitors only stop at the scenic overlook along Wyoming Highway 28. But South Pass is best explored on foot.
Visitors can walk for miles across windswept prairie where faint wagon ruts remain visible. While the hike is easy enough for almost anyone today, it was once part of an arduous journey.
Stand anywhere along the old trail, and it’s easy to let the imagination run and see a wagon train, handcart, stagecoach or lone Pony Express rider somewhere on the distant horizon.
If you go
Regular services are held at Oregon Trail Memorial Episcopal Church at 1:30 p.m. on the first and third Sundays of each month.
Eden is just under 40 miles north of Rock Springs, Wyoming’s fifth-largest city and the seat of Sweetwater County. For those flying, United Express offers daily service between Rock Springs and Denver.
The church is about 150 miles from Jackson and Grand Teton National Park, making it a worthwhile stop for travelers heading to or from the park.
Dennis Lennox writes a travel column for The Christian Post.
Dennis Lennox writes about travel, politics and religious affairs. He has been published in the Financial Times, Independent, The Detroit News, Toronto Sun and other publications. Follow @dennislennox on Twitter.
