ELBE NATIONAL HISTORIC CHURCH Elbe, Washington

Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: July 4, 2022

A few miles before entering Mt. Ranier National Park was this 18 x 24-foot tiny Lutheran Church built in 1906 and is registered on the National Register of Historic Places. The letters on the front of the church are for its German heritage. Forged by the town’s first blacksmith, a four-foot steel cross stands atop the 46-foot steeple. The church still has its original alter, elevated pulpit and one hand-carved pew. Services are still held on one Sunday per month and the church is also used for weddings. Ripley’s Believe It or Not lists it as the world’s smallest “functional” church. Nearby was a bunch of railroad cars converted for overnight sleeping and a couple were turned into a pizza restaurant. 

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