A nearly-retired construction worker in Virginia spent years of spare evenings and weekends building a perfect replica of Noah’s Ark. Down to the smallest detail, his creation is faithful to one of the Bible’s most enduring epics.
Mackie Jenkins, 65, from Washington, D.C. originally, started a Bible study ministry three decades ago in Warrenton, Virginia, where his teaching passion came to the fore. From 1999 he began producing materials and models of the Ark to aid as props.
“We found a log when I was doing hybrid construction, about 45 feet [14 meters] below street level in Alexandria, Virginia, on a high-rise we were building,” Mr. Jenkins told The Epoch Times, adding his belief about its origins. “The log was not from this time period.”
It was from the “pre-flood” era, he thinks.
This was the impetus behind his first of several Ark models that grew successively larger in scale. Firstly, he used the log to build a 6-foot (1.8 meter) prototype. This was around when Ken Ham, CEO and founder of Answers in Genesis, was building his now world-renowned Ark Encounter in Kentucky.
Mr. Jenkins was inspired by this to think big. He wanted to incorporate all 15 biblical scenes of the Ark in one model: including its construction, the boarding of animals, and its landing after the flood. His 6-foot (1.8 meters) replica proved too small for his purposes; so he spent two more years, between 2015 and 2017, building a 12-foot (3.6-meter) version.
Striving for Authenticity
“Well, we’re getting close, but we’re still not there,” Mr. Jenkins said. “So I built a third one.” Starting around 2019, he drew plans for a larger Ark and gathered wood materials from a rather particular community.
At an Amish sawmill near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he found the quarter-sawn oak that would give the ornamental finish he desired. The Amish processed the wood by cutting it “the wrong way” to expose the pattern of the grain to show off.
