Entry No. 3 — the Asheville file — filed under: outdoor
St. Jude's Chapel of Hope
Mid-chemotherapy, Beverly Barutio promised St. Jude — patron saint of lost causes — a chapel if she survived; the cancer went into remission, and in 1991 she and her husband built one, 12 by 14 feet of cedar clapboard with a working belfry, beside their farm in a mountain community actually named Trust. Inside are four small pews carved with crosses, a prayer bench trimmed with angels, a shrine to St. Jude, and six stained-glass windows — seating for about eight, standing room for not many more. Barutio died in 2002, and the couple who now own the land agreed to change nothing; visitors keep the pews stocked with notes, photos, and donations that get passed on to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The door has no lock worth mentioning — it is open around the clock, every day.
→ Three more weird outdoor & roadside oddities in Asheville — never the same twice
The story
Beverly Barutio was partway through chemotherapy when she stopped the treatments, put the matter to St. Jude — the patron saint of hopeless causes — and promised him a chapel if she lived. The cancer went into remission. In 1991 she and her husband Bill made good on the vow, raising a 12-by-14-foot chapel of cedar clapboard near their farmhouse in Trust, a Madison County community whose name reads like part of the arrangement. A working bell hangs in the belfry, and three stone steps lead to a thick wooden door that has never needed a key: the chapel is open every hour of every day.
Inside are four small pews carved with crosses, a prayer bench trimmed with angels, and six stained-glass windows — saints in four of them, St. Jude himself at the head of the room. Seating maxes out around eight. The shrine accumulates whatever travelers leave: photographs of loved ones, handwritten notes, trinkets, and donations that get passed along to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. A newspaper story kept inside explains the vow to anyone who arrives knowing nothing, and the grounds hold a small covered bridge, with Spring Creek running past the property.
Barutio died in 2002. The couple who came to own the land, Todd Glasser and Carmen Eakes, told WNC Magazine they agreed to leave the chapel exactly as they found it, 'in dedication to Beverly' — and they have: no services, no schedule, no lock. What keeps it alive is the road. NC 209 is a favorite of motorcyclists, the Appalachian Medley Scenic Byway passes the door, and the Trust General Store stands a few steps away, so a steady trickle of strangers keeps the pews stocked with fresh notes for the next stranger to read.
What it's like
From Asheville the drive is the overture: roughly 45 minutes, the back half of it mountain curves on NC 63, until the little white-trimmed chapel appears at the junction with NC 209, beside the Trust General Store. Pull off near the store, take the three stone steps, and push open the door — odds are good you'll have it to yourself, though on sunny weekends motorcycles pull in steadily. Etiquette is church etiquette regardless of your affiliation: keep the volume down, read the notes and photographs people have left at the shrine, add your own if moved to, and drop a donation only if you like — it's forwarded to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Fifteen minutes covers the visit; the general store's variable hours decide whether there's a cold drink after.
The move: Drive out NC 63 through Leicester in the late afternoon — the road is half the show — sit in the chapel long enough to read the notes strangers leave, add your own, then follow NC 209 fifteen miles north into Hot Springs for dinner.
📍 Before you go Always unlocked, free, no services held. The GPS address reads Hot Springs but the chapel sits where NC 209 meets NC 63, steps from the Trust General Store (its hours vary). It is a 15-minute stop at the end of 40 minutes of mountain curves, so make the drive part of the plan — and expect motorcycles on NC 209 on sunny weekends.
- 📍 Trust
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 14535 NC-209, Hot Springs, NC 28743
Hours: Added 2026-08-25 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Hot Springs Resort & Spa — NC 209 continues 15 miles north to Hot Springs, where an hour in a private mineral tub along Spring Creek turns the chapel stop into a full afternoon.
- Paint Rock — A few gravel miles beyond Hot Springs, a 5,000-year-old pictograph cliff at the Tennessee line makes a fitting second act of roadside devotion — one sacred site per millennium.
- Zadie's Market at the Old Marshall Jail — Loop home along the French Broad and stop in Marshall for dinner inside the county's 1905 jail, so the return leg earns a destination of its own.
More weird in Asheville
Good to know
When is it open, and does it cost anything?
It's unlocked around the clock, every day of the year, and free. No services are held — it exists purely for drop-in visits and quiet reflection. Donations are optional and get passed along to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Where exactly is it? My GPS says Hot Springs.
The mailing address (14535 NC-209, Hot Springs) is misleading — the chapel sits where NC 209 meets NC 63 in the community of Trust, right beside the Trust General Store, about 45 minutes northwest of Asheville. The town of Hot Springs is another 15 miles north.
How many people can fit inside?
The four small pews seat about eight, with standing room for only a handful more. It's built for a carload, not a bus — bigger groups should rotate through.
Can I leave a note or memento?
Yes, that's the living tradition of the place: the shrine and pews carry years of photographs, prayers, and small tokens left by travelers, and the owners deliberately leave them in place. Bring a pen.
What's the road like, and when should I go?
NC 63 and NC 209 are genuine mountain roads — continuous curves, occasional gravel shoulders, and lots of motorcycles on sunny weekends, since NC 209 is a celebrated riding route. Daylight makes the drive part of the reward; late afternoon light is best through the stained glass.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Roadside America · romanticasheville.com · wncmagazine.com
last checked: 2026-08-25