User:Vchimpanzee/Poplar Tent Presbyterian Church

Poplar Tent Presbyterian Church is the oldest Presbyterian church and the second oldest church in Cabarrus County, North Carolina.

Rev. John Thompson of Philadelphia began preaching under a poplar tree in 1751, and a church was organized with meetings in homes. Rev. Hezekiah Balch became the first pastor in 1761. The name "Poplar Tent" came from the fact that early services were held in tents. The King of England donated land in 1765 and the church remains there today. In 1768, a classical school was established which eventually educated three North Carolina governors, the first president of UNC-Chapel Hill and the head of the state's first medical school. A colonial brick building built in 1851 stands today. African American slaves worshipped in the church but after the Civil War they started their own church, Cedar Grove Presbyterian.