Ovid, Idaho – Abandoned LDS Mormon Church and Dolls Store

Ovid, Idaho is a rural town in Bear Lake County, Idaho, and you’ve probably never heard of this town. I hadn’t either, until I was doing some research online and stumbled upon a photo that caught my eye; it was a picture of an abandoned storefront, with a sign simply reading, “Dolls.” It was creepy AF. And I HAD to see it.

I love abandoned places. And if it’s interesting enough for me, I’ll make a special trip out to see it. This “Dolls” building struck a chord with me for reasons I can’t explain, so when I was traveling through the area, from Utah to Yellowstone, Ovid wasn’t too far out of the way, so I made it a point to take a detour to check it out. And in my research, I also found the (arguably) more famous abandoned Mormon Church in Ovid, conveniently located right by the Dolls store. Score!

Ovid Idaho – Abandoned LDS Church and Doll Store Location

Both the Dolls Store and the abandoned church are very easy to find. They’re located at the intersection in Ovid, shown below – the Dolls store is where the marker is, and the church is located a few hundred feet south on US 89. You can’t miss it.

Abandoned Dolls Store in Ovid Idaho – History and Details

There isn’t a whole lot of information about this abandoned Dolls store – and no, despite the creepy appearance of this building, it’s not a ghost story. Annabelle and Chucky are not hiding inside (or are they?)

This “Dolls” building was actually once a gas station. It’s hard to picture it that way, but notice the canopy? You could pull up a car through it and fill your tank. It also served as a convenience store and post office up until 1990 when the owners retired. At that point, it was sold to Gwen Nicols, who, in 1991, turned it into a hand-crafted doll store that become world-famous. Her doll store was operating up until at least 2003, as this interesting article features Nicols and her store. I could not find any other information beyond that timeframe.

Today, the Dolls store still stands, abandoned. I personally think it’s an interesting photography location. Lots of people are scared of dolls (check out the Uncanny Valley effect for a good explanation – basically they look close enough to a human, but different enough to know they…aren’t, which in turn, creeps us out). And here we have a dolls store, that looks like it sold antique dolls (which are the scariest!), sitting in rural Idaho, abandoned for years, weathered by the elements and baked by the sun. It’s like at any moment, that puppet from the Saw movies will pop up in the window when you least expect it. AHHH!

Mormon Church – Ovid Idaho – Location and Details

This old, abandoned Mormon Meeting House is located just a few hundred feet south on US-89 from the abandoned Dolls store. This LDS building was build in 1895-1896 and is believed to have been sold off in 1960 and has been privately owned since.

This old Mormon church is architecturally beautiful – in fact, photographers LOVE this location – you will find hundreds of photos of this church online (whereas, the Dolls store, well, you won’t find much other than my own photos). I visited in fall of 2020 and was a bit disappointed because the owners put up a bunch of orange cones around the church to, well, wreck your photos.

My guess is that asshole photographers were trespassing on the property to get closer to the church, despite the fact that there is a gate with barbed wire and “No Trespassing” signs everywhere. The owners likely got fed up with photographers stomping around and put up the cones, boarded up the windows and dumped an old trailer in front of the church. Can you blame them?

Now, if you’re skilled enough in Photoshop, you can take the cones out. I did this on my photos – I’m not the best “photoshopper” out there by any means, but it did work (even for a bozo like me), but it took a lot of effort on my part.

Other attractions near Ovid, Idaho

Ovid, Idaho itself is in the middle of nowhere, but depending on your route, you may pass through it en route to other notable locations. US-89 leads you right to the junction for Jackson, Wyoming (thus close to Grand Teton National Park) so you might be passing through the town. Otherwise, Bear Lake is a popular summer destination, and Ovid isn’t too far north from the lake.

Bottom Line

Both the Dolls store and the abandoned LDS church make great photography locations in rural Idaho. I did make a detour to photograph these, and I do feel it was worth it – even with the cones placed around the church, but that’s going to be up to you and your personal taste – heck, you might even be passing through here, heading to the Tetons! As for Ovid, there isn’t anything else to see or do, nor is there anything else to photograph.