Jolo, West Virginia
Encyclopedia
Jolo is an unincorporated community on West Virginia Route 83 in McDowell County
in the U.S. state
of West Virginia
. The community was made famous in the book Salvation on Sand Mountain
by Dennis Covington for being the home of The Church Of The Lord Jesus With Signs Following, a renowned snake handling
church. Services at the church have been filmed and widely shown on television.
The name, according to local tradition, derives from the name of the first postmaster, Joseph Lowe.
The community is mentioned in the 2008 novel Final Theory
.
McDowell County, West Virginia
McDowell County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The land that became McDowell was originally part of Tazewell County, Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,113. Its county seat is Welch. McDowell county is the southern-most county in the state, geographically...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. The community was made famous in the book Salvation on Sand Mountain
Salvation on Sand Mountain
Salvation on Sand Mountain is a 1995 non-fiction text by Dennis Covington. The book follows the author as he goes from covering the trial of Glenn Summerford to experiencing a snake handling church in Appalachia...
by Dennis Covington for being the home of The Church Of The Lord Jesus With Signs Following, a renowned snake handling
Snake handling
Snake handling or serpent handling is a religious ritual in a small number of Pentecostal churches in the U.S., usually characterized as rural and Holiness. The practice began in the early 20th century in Appalachia, spreading to mostly coal mining towns. The practice plays only a small part of...
church. Services at the church have been filmed and widely shown on television.
The name, according to local tradition, derives from the name of the first postmaster, Joseph Lowe.
The community is mentioned in the 2008 novel Final Theory
Final Theory (novel)
Final Theory is a 2008 techno-thriller novel written by Scientific American editor Mark Alpert and published by Touchstone Books. The novel fictitiously posits that Albert Einstein actually achieved his life's ambition of discovering a unified field theory...
.