{"nrhp_refnum":"97000573","name":"Ebenezer Presbyterian Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"720 Bern St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Bern","county":"Craven County","state":"NC","lat":35.111878940000054,"lon":-77.04572895699994,"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 small brick Gothic Revival church at 720 Bern Street, at the corner of Bern and Cedar streets in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina. It was built in 1923-1924 after the Great Fire of 1922 destroyed the congregation's earlier sanctuary.","why_significant":"It houses one of the oldest black Presbyterian congregations in eastern North Carolina, founded in 1878 and one of the five oldest African American churches in New Bern. The congregation rebuilt after the 1922 fire with mortgage help from the national Presbyterian Church, and it is the only black Presbyterian church remaining in northeastern North Carolina. The Keeper's amendment removed Criterion C and architecture as an area of significance, leaving Criterion A.","narrative":"Ebenezer Presbyterian Church is a small brick Gothic Revival sanctuary at Bern and Cedar streets in New Bern, completed in 1924. It replaced an earlier frame church lost in the Great Fire of 1922. The congregation began in 1878, when Black members of First Presbyterian Church organized separately, and it became one of the oldest Black Presbyterian congregations in eastern North Carolina. After the fire, members bought a new lot, borrowed from local banks and Presbyterian mission boards, and donated money and labor. Trustee H. F. Sutton, a builder and undertaker, is traditionally credited with designing and building the church. The building has glazed brick walls, buttressed sides, a bull's eye window in the front gable and a largely original interior with pine pews and brass chandeliers. Its basement hosted the city's soup kitchen in the 1980s. The church is the only Black Presbyterian church remaining in northeastern North Carolina. It was listed for its religious and ethnic heritage associations.","period_of_significance":"1924-1947","architect_builder":"Sutton, H. F., Builder","architectural_style":"Gothic (Gothic Revival)","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Still used as a church. Membership is about thirty-five, and the building is described as well preserved, with 1970s window replacements and bathroom additions.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:50.226981-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/7175/47717531/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/97000573.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000573/0146c9dd5b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000573/0146c9dd5b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cecouchman","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EbenezerPresbyterian_5429.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:EbenezerPresbyterian_5429.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"15000956","name":"New Bern Historic District (Boundary Increase II)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/new-bern-historic-district-boundary-increase-ii-15000956/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717531","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebenezer_Presbyterian_Church_(New_Bern,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5331728"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/craven-county/ebenezer-presbyterian-church-97000573/"}