{"nrhp_refnum":"97000572","name":"Rue Chapel AME Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"709 Oak St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Bern","county":"Craven County","state":"NC","lat":35.11109311700005,"lon":-77.04954926799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-06-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Gothic Revival brick A.M.E. church with a Craftsman-style brick parsonage at 709 Oak Street in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina. The present church was rebuilt in 1941 from the materials of an earlier church by members Joseph F. Lewis and Willie Becton.","why_significant":"The congregation, founded in 1865 by A.M.E. missionary George Rue, is believed to be one of the two earliest A.M.E. churches in North Carolina and New Bern's second oldest African American congregation. The church and 1920s parsonage are considered architecturally significant and are tied to religion and Black ethnic heritage. They are part of a multiple property group of historic African American churches in Craven County.","narrative":"Rue Chapel A.M.E. Church is a brick Gothic Revival church at the corner of Oak and Hamilton streets in New Bern, with a gabled nave flanked by two corner entrance towers. A cornerstone records that it was built in 1873 and rebuilt in 1941. Church members Joseph F. Lewis and Willie Becton rebuilt it using bricks from the earlier sanctuary, which gives it an older look than its date suggests. Behind it stands a one-story Craftsman-style brick parsonage from the 1920s, now a church office. The congregation traces to 1865, when missionary George Rue arrived from New England and organized it. It is believed to be among the first two A.M.E. congregations in North Carolina. Earlier sanctuaries were lost to the Great Fire of 1922 and to condemnation in 1939. The church and parsonage were listed for their architecture and for their roles in religion and Black ethnic heritage.","period_of_significance":"1920s-1947","architect_builder":"Joseph F. Lewis, Builder; Willie Becton, Builder","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival (Gothic); Bungalow/Craftsman (parsonage)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The church remains in religious use. The parsonage served as a parsonage until about 1980 and is now used as a church office.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:50.260257-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/35/7175/47717535/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/97000572.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000572/5dfcbe7cb9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000572/5dfcbe7cb9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cecouchman","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RueChapelAME_5460.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cecouchman</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:RueChapelAME_5460.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"14000517","name":"Craven Terrace","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/craven-terrace-14000517/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717535","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rue_Chapel_AME_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7377764"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/craven-county/rue-chapel-ame-church-97000572/"}