{"nrhp_refnum":"72000941","name":"First Baptist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Middle St. and Church Alley","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Bern","county":"Craven County","state":"NC","lat":35.103209539000034,"lon":-77.04551223899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-03-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Gothic Revival brick church at the northwest corner of Middle Street and Church Alley in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, built in 1848 from a plan by the New York firm Thomas & Son.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church's historical associations are more impressive than its architecture. Several ministers went on to found or lead Baptist colleges, and the congregation began the Biblical Recorder in 1835. The building also hosted public events, including a visit by President Harry Truman in 1948, and is an interesting example of Gothic Revival church design.","narrative":"Built in 1848, this Gothic Revival church in New Bern stands at the corner of Middle Street and Church Alley. It is made of red brick laid in Flemish bond, with a square crenelated entrance tower, pointed-arched openings and stained glass windows. The plan came from the New York firm Thomas & Son, and a local builder, Hardy B. Lane, did the carpentry. The interior was altered in the early twentieth century and again in 1943, though the vestibule remains largely original. A cast-iron fence by the Champion Iron Company surrounds part of the lot. The congregation traces to Baptists active in New Bern by 1740 and organized in 1809. Its ministers included founders and namesakes of Wake Forest, Meredith, Furman and Chowan colleges, and the congregation began the Biblical Recorder in 1835. The sanctuary hosted Edward Everett's 1859 oration on George Washington and a 1948 worship visit by President Harry Truman.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1848)","architect_builder":"Thomas & Son of New York (plan); Hardy B. Lane (carpentry); brick made by Colonel H. J. B. Clark","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good and altered; in use as a religious building, with the sanctuary renovated in the early 1900s and in 1943.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:58.371118-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/7197/47719758/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/72000941.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000941/c671e02551-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000941/c671e02551-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tradewinds","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Baptist_Church-New_Bern_NC.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tradewinds</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Baptist_Church-New_Bern_NC.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719758","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Baptist_Church_(New_Bern,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452416"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/craven-county/first-baptist-church-72000941/"}