If you’re a fan of Lord of the Rings, you may recognize the name of this property and wonder if there’s a spelling mistake. Rest assured, the name is very much intentional.
Rivendale draws its inspiration from Rivendell, the mythical elven refuge in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Rivendell was a place of peace tucked into a wooded valley, a haven where weary travelers could pause their journeys to rest, eat, reflect, and enjoy fellowship.
Tolkien himself described Rivendell like this:
[Rivendell] was perfect, whether you liked food or sleep or story-telling or singing or reading, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Merely to be there was a cure for weariness…Evil things did not come into the secret valley of Rivendell…Such was the virtue of the land of Rivendell that soon all fear and anxiety was lifted from their minds. The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have any power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with each good day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song.
These ideas of peace, rest, beauty, and renewal are the spirit behind Rivendale.
The spelling carries an additional layer of meaning. “Dell” and “dale” are closely related words, both referring to a peaceful valley. Dale is also a name chosen deliberately, in honor of a beloved man who passed away shortly before this land was purchased. He was a man who loved his family, his faith, nature, beautiful places, and stories, especially The Lord of the Rings which he read often and to his children. Naming this place Rivendale became a way to weave remembrance into the land itself.
Like the men, hobbits, elves, and dwarves who once found rest in Rivendell, we hope your time at Rivendale includes a pleasant mixture of food, sleep, reading, singing, conversation, laughter, and quiet reflection. We hope you find space here to play and to rest, to laugh and to think, to connect with others or enjoy solitude. We hope you notice God’s beauty in the sunrises and sunsets, the wind moving through the trees, summer thunderstorms, and winter snowfalls. Light a fire. Open a book. Share a meal.
Welcome to Rivendale, we hope you enjoy your stay.