Thanks to our partner, the New Bern-Craven County Public Library, we have now uploaded several books of church minutes from the First Baptist Church of New Bern, as well as a book from 1984 on the history of the congregation.

Cover for “‘In The Beginning—Baptists’!: History of the First Baptist Church, New Bern, North Carolina 1809-1984” by Edna Avery Cook.

The First Baptist Church of New Bern was founded on May 11, 1809 after numerous unsuccessful attempts to form a Baptist church on the site since before the American Revolutionary War. On July 2, 1848 the sanctuary–a gothic revival structure that still stands today–was dedicated. The structure was left mostly unharmed during the Civil War, except for an indent from a cannonball from the Battle of New Bern that was visible until renovations were completed in 1975.

Cover of the book of minutes for the First Baptist Church of New Bern from December 3, 1870-January 1, 1883.

For more about the New-Bern Craven County Public Library, visit their website.