Old Settlers and Veterans Association of Falls County Tabernacle

After Restoration (2022)

The Honor Award for the restoration of the Old Settlers and Veterans Association of Falls County Tabernacle in Tomlinson Hill, Texas was presented to Gail and Steve Palmore on behalf of the Old Settlers and Veterans Association of Falls County at Preservation Texas’s Central Texas Regional Preservation Summit in San Marcos on September 21, 2023. The tabernacle was previously included on Preservation Texas’s Most Endangered Places list in 2016.

Presented every other year, Preservation Texas Honor Awards recognize outstanding efforts to restore, preserve, rehabilitate or reconstruct historic places that have been individually included on Preservation Texas's Most Endangered Places list or relate to a previous statewide thematic endangered listing. This year’s Honor Awards celebrate the remarkable efforts made by individuals, organizations, and communities to rehabilitate once imperiled historic places, breathing new life into cherished structures while honoring their historical significance and architectural integrity.

From Left to Right: Kate Johnson, Board of Directors, Preservation Texas; Gail Palmore, Old Settlers and Veterans Association of Falls County; Steve Palmore, Old Settlers and Veterans Association of Falls County; Samantha Hunick, Central Texas Program Officer, Preservation Texas

Constructed across Texas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, free-standing, open air wooden tabernacles served both religious and secular purposes in rural communities. Often associated with churches, tabernacles also hosted political speeches, school events, and reunions. Included on Preservation Texas’s 2016 Most Endangered Places List, this tabernacle at the Old Settlers and Veterans Association of Falls County grounds in Tomlinson Hill was constructed in 1914 to serve as a reunion site for military veterans and Falls County pioneers.

By 2019, when a new board of directors took over management of the site, the tabernacle had received no maintenance in over 20 years. The structure was unstable and deteriorated, suffering from water infiltration and termite damage. However, the Association worked hard to raise the funds necessary to initiate restoration work. Later that year, restoration of the Old Settlers and Veterans Association tabernacle was completed. The site now serves as a venue for educational events, weddings, reunions and camping.

Before Restoration