Little is known of this property. What we do know comes to us from an 1876 County Superintendents report by Edgar Haas. Here is what he had to say:
Tabernacle, Dist. No. 90. In the year 1815 an acre of land was given for the purpose thereon a building to be used as a church and schoolhouse.
Edgar Haas, 1876
Note: This contradicts the 1803 deed which describes a larger piece of land
A gentleman named J. B. Jordan, taught (in) the school for eight years; teaching the three winter months each year, and receiving for his services, three cents per day from each pupil while in attendance. The school was conducted in this way until 1826, when in addition to the winter months, the school was kept open during the summer, a female then having charge of it.
In 1851, the house being very much out of repair, it was thought necessary to build a new one. A small lot was given, and the present building erected with money raised for the purpose by a special tax.
In 1856, a small appropriation was made for the teacher, thus increasing his compensation.”
The September 1885 cemetery plot map of the Old Tabernacle Cemetery, by J Franklin Peacock, depicts a 20’x26’ meeting house on location. It’s not clear if this is an existent structure or a former foundation. Based on the 1849 map (see below) it’s likely the site of the 1815 school.
The Otley map of 1849 shows a schoolhouse in exactly the same spot as the 1885 foundation.
We do believe that when the John Brainerd Church (The Tabernacle in the Pines) was erected about 1778, the church was also used as a schoolhouse. It seems plausible that it could be the site of a later schoolhouse, as it’s not very likely that two buildings would be built early on. Plus, rumors we have heard suggest the 1778 building was located in the center of the land plot, and not at the edge where the 1885 map depicts (This information also contradicts the 1803 deed for a church and school).
Tabernacle Historical Society 