Tisdale-Jones House
Also known as: New Bern City Schools Administration Building
Why it's listed
Located at 520 New Street in New Bern, this two-and-a-half-story frame house has a center-hall main block with a hip roof and a large two-story rear ell. The two sections appear to have been built separately and joined later, and the ell may be the pre-Revolutionary structure. Robert Palmer improved the lots by 1769. Later owners included Chief Justice Martin Howard, silversmith William Tisdale, jurist and author Francis Xavier Martin, John Louis Taylor, and planter Asa Jones, whose family held it until 1958. Several were prominent in St. John's Masonic Lodge, and Tisdale was ordered in 1778 to engrave North Carolina's great seal, possibly in this house. The interiors combine Georgian stairs and sophisticated Federal mantels with vernacular details such as pierced gouge work. They are described as the earliest Federal interiors in New Bern. Since 1958 the building has housed school board offices.
Significance in brief: The house is tied to the founding of St. John's Masonic Lodge and was owned by early leaders in law and politics, including silversmith William Tisdale, who may have engraved the first great seal of North Carolina there. Its Federal interiors are described as the earliest of that style in New Bern and probably influenced local carpenters. It is also cited as a good example of adaptive use of a historic building.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 72000954, listed April 25, 1972. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 520 New St., New Bern |
|---|---|
| County | Craven County |
| Listed | April 25, 1972 |
| Reference number | 72000954 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 18th Century |
| Architectural style | Georgian and Federal interior finish, with vernacular elements |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Owned by the New Bern Board of Education and used as its administrative offices since 1958; condition listed as good, altered, on its original site. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 35.11004, -77.04228 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 72000954.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18158848
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.