God's Ark of Safety is a
non-denominational Christian
Non-denominational Christianity (or nondenominational Christianity) consists of churches, and individual Christians, which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligni ...
ministry in
Frostburg, Maryland
Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland. It is located at the head of the Georges Creek Valley, west of Cumberland. The town is one of the first cities on the "National Road", US 40, and the western terminus of the Western Marylan ...
, United States, led by Pastor Everett Spence.
On
Easter
Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
, 1976, former Pastor Richard Greene began building a replica of
Noah's Ark atop a prominent hillside along what is now
Interstate 68
Interstate 68 (I-68) is a Interstate Highway in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Maryland, connecting Interstate 79, I-79 in Morgantown, West Virginia, east to Interstate 70, I-70 in Hancock, Maryland. I-68 is also Corridor E of ...
featuring a sign that announces to passing travelers: "Noah's Ark Being Rebuilt Here!"
Ground was broken for the ark in September 1976 with over 3,000 tons of concrete. The foundation and earthwork were built to biblical proportions, around 450 by 75 by 45 feet, which is about one and a half football fields long.
As of April 2025, the structure is still just a frame.
The Ark is featured on the front cover and chapter 4 of
Timothy Beal's book ''Roadside Religion: In Search of the Sacred, the Strange, and the Substance of Faith''. In the book ''Scrambled Eggs at Midnight'' by Frostburg writer
Brad Barkley, there is a reference to the Ark in the pre-chapter section listing places that one should see when traveling across the country. It is also mentioned in Barkley's story "The Way It's Lasted."
See also
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Flood myth
A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these Mythology, myths and the ...
and
List of flood myths
Flood myths are common across a wide range of cultures, extending back into Bronze Age and Neolithic prehistory. These accounts depict a flood, sometimes global in scale, usually sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divin ...
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Noah's Ark replicas and derivatives
Numerous interpretations of Noah's Ark have been built and proposed. Some were intended to be replicas, as close as possible to the Biblical Ark, the builders assuming that such a boat did exist and that it is not a mythological vessel. Others are ...
References
Further reading
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External links
*{{Official, http://www.godsark.org/
God's Ark of Safety Model
Frostburg, Maryland
Replicas and derivatives of Noah's Ark
Religion in Cumberland, MD-WV-PA
Landmarks in Maryland
Churches in Allegany County, Maryland