Falcon Tabernacle

The Falcon Tabernacle, also known as the Octagon Tabernacle and the Little Tabernacle, is an historic octagon-shaped Pentecostal Holiness church building in Falcon, North Carolina. Built in 1898, it was designed by Julius A. Culbreth for prayer meetings and constructed from salvaged wood from trees that had been uprooted by a tornado. Culbreth, who was the founder of Falcon, chose the octagon shape because it reminded him of the tents used in revival meetings. In 1900 the building became the home of the Falcon Pentecostal Holiness Church, of which Culbreth was a leader.^[1][2][3][4]

Falcon Tabernacle
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The tabernacle
Show map of North Carolina Show map of the United States
Location	West Street, Falcon, North Carolina
Coordinates	35°11′37″N 78°38′52″W
Built	1898
Architect	Julius A. Culbreth
Architectural style	Octagon Mode
NRHP reference No.	83003814 [1]
Added to NRHP	October 11, 1983

On January 30, 1911, the building was the site of the formal merger agreement between two Pentecostal denominations, the Pentecostal Holiness Church of North Carolina and the much larger Fire-Baptized Holiness Church. The new denomination was called the Pentecostal Holiness Church and is now the International Pentecostal Holiness Church.^[2][5]

In 1952 a new much larger church was built in front of the Little Tabernacle and the congregation's name was changed to the Culbreth Memorial Pentecostal Holiness Church. ^[6] In 1974 the Little Tabernacle was moved from its original location at 8443 Fayetteville Road to West Street, where it is now located. ^{[2] [7]}

On October 11, 1983, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.^[1]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
2. Waymarking listing for Octagon Tabernacle, Falcon, North Carolina
3. "Cumberland County 250: Short biography of Julius A. Culbreth". Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
4. Linda Jasperse and Jim Sumner (November 1982). "Falcon Tabernacle" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
5. International Pentecostal Holiness Church: Brief History: Pentecost & Mergers Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
6. Cumberland County Public Library page on Culbreth Memorial Pentecostal Holiness Church^{[permanent dead link]}
7. Waymarking listing for Octagon Tabernacle: Picture and church and historic marker

External links

• Culbreth Memorial Pentecostal Holiness Church website