{"nrhp_refnum":"80002827","name":"Eastern Star Baptist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Church and Wagner Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tarboro","county":"Edgecombe County","state":"NC","lat":35.893482936000055,"lon":-77.53025438799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-04-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A frame Carpenter Gothic church on the northwest corner of Church and Wagner streets in East Tarboro, North Carolina, believed to have been built in the 1870s as the Tarboro Presbyterian Church and moved to its present lot in 1906.","why_significant":"It is the only Carpenter Gothic church in Tarboro and is very well preserved inside and out. It was also the town's first Presbyterian church. Since 1906 it has been the only home of the Eastern Star Baptist Church, a Black congregation that has been a community focus in east Tarboro.","narrative":"This frame church in East Tarboro is the only Carpenter Gothic church in the town. It has board-and-batten walls, lancet-arched doors and windows, and a central three-stage tower on the main facade, with corner posts rising to pointed metal-covered finials. Inside, a vestibule in the tower leads to a sanctuary with a balcony carried on chamfered posts, a curving stair, ceiling moldings suggesting timbering, and distinctive curvilinear pews. The building is believed to have been built in the 1870s as the Tarboro Presbyterian Church, organized in 1874, and three women of the congregation are said to have determined its design. In 1906 it was moved to make way for a new brick church and was taken over by the Eastern Star Baptist congregation, a Black congregation established that year. The congregation has kept the building well preserved, and it remains a landmark in east Tarboro.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Carpenter Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as remarkably well preserved, and used by the Eastern Star Baptist congregation since 1906.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:58.559827-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/95/7177/47717795/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/80002827.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717795","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Star_Baptist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5330487"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/edgecombe-county/eastern-star-baptist-church-80002827/"}