China Spring Tabernacle
China Spring, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Constructed about 1903 on property deeded by Lavantia Conger, this two-story building has served as a civic center for the farming community of China Spring. An outside wooden staircase was removed when the structure was remodeled in 1934 by the Works Progress Administration. Camp 707 of the Woodmen of the World, organized in 1899, conducted meetings on the second floor until 1969. The Tabernacle has been used for school assemblies, church revivals, traveling shows, amateur theatricals, lectures, and political rallies. (1980)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Raised around 1903 on land given by Lavantia Conger, this two-story tabernacle has long been the civic heart of the farming community of China Spring. The Woodmen of the World lodge met upstairs for seven decades, and the building was remodeled by the Works Progress Administration in 1934. Over the years its floors have hosted school assemblies, church revivals, traveling shows, theatricals, lectures, and political rallies.
Why it matters
Community tabernacles were the town squares of rural America, where a scattered farming population gathered for everything from worship to politics.
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Related people
- · Lavantia Conger
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
China Spring Cemetery
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