Form 10-300 (July 1969)

UNITED STATES DEP/l,RT,'y\Ei'\lT OF TH INTERIOR Nf-\TIONAL PAI~l< SERVICE

STREET AND NUMBER:

STATe;

North Carolina COUhlTY:

Craven FOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER DATE

311-313 New Street and 517 Hancock Street, respectively CITY OR TOWN:

New Bern First ConO'ressional District Honorable 'Halter B. STATE

CATEGORY OWNERSHIP

(Check One)

0 District !Xl Bui Iding 51 Publ ic Public Acquisition:

0 Site 0 Structure 0 Private Din Process

0 Object 0 Both o Being Considered

PRESEN T USE (Check One or More as Appropriate)

0 Agricultural 0 Government o Park

0 Commercia I 0 Industrial o Private Residence

KJ Educational 0 Mi litary o Religious

0 Entertainment 0 Museum o Scientific

STREET AND NUMBER:

520 New Street CI TY OR TOWN: STATE:

[]J Occupi ed

o Unoccupi ed

ACC ESSI BL E

TO THE PUBLIC

Yes:

lKl Restricted

o Pre~ervQ;ion work 0 Unres Ir icted

in progress

o Transpori"ai-i on

o Other (Specify)

o t'\lo

o Comments

n o c Z -I -<

(l1

z Arnerican ~ "ll

193--7------------~--------~------~----------------------------------------+--4-<7 S( IDATE OF SURVEY: . State 0 County 0 Local _ AJ

IDEPDSITDRY FOR SURVEY RECORDS, ~ z

Library of Congress m STREET AND NUMBER:

East Capitol and Inde endence Avenue S. E.

11 Washington

ISTATE:

I D. C. CODE CI TY OR TOWN:

(Cileck One)

o E;(ce Ilent 00 Good o Foir F~uin:::;

CONDITIOI\! (Check One) (Check One)

o A Itared l\-\ovcd

DESCRIBE THE I::>RESENT AND Ol-\IGINAL

The First Nelv Bern Academy ) brLil t of brick laid in Flemish bonq is ttvO stories wi th a hip roof and thYo interior chimneys. The is marked by a low water table" A slightly projecting three­bay pedimented pavilion contains the central entrance under a semicircular porch. The pediment) with a central blind oculus) is outlined by a cornice consisting of pairs of lli1dercut modillions above a dentil course. This cornice carries around the entire vVindmvs containing replacement sash and surmounted by flat al"ches of gauged brick mark the five bays of the front (south) facade and the three-bay sides.

The porch) a tetrastylo semicircular structure with a flat roof carried on Tuscan COlillTillS, repeats the details of the main cornice. Above the narrow double doors, a w-ide fanlight executed in wood in imitation of lead extends across the sidelights, which have been boarded over. Tuscan pilaste flank the door. This porch is a reconstruction of one shovJl.1 in an early sketch of the Academy. A Wide arch of gauged brick above the fanlight is partially obscured by the porch. This may indicate that the earlier porch was not original to the building. The brickwork below the central second floor window indicates a change was made, which might have involved the entrance.

A late nineteenth century addition at the rear of the building contains lavo.tory facilities. From evidence in the attic and contemporary docur(len­tation) it is certain that a cupola formerly re sted ne ar the junction of the main and the pediment ridges.

The interior has a Celi.ter hall with one room on either side. that rises in two flights begins its ascent against the east wall Throughout the building the woodwork and mantels have survived almost despite the continuous use oJ' the structure as a school. A molded with keystone borders the fanlight of the hall. The closed sidelights paneled reveals and soffits and are flanked Tuscan pilasters similar to those on the exterior. The hall features a flat-paneled vvainscot and panel doors VThich open into t1'£ classrooms. These unusual doors are flush-paneled on the classroom side. Both rooms, finished similarly, have a high horizontally flush-paneled wainscot and very simple Adamesque mantels the openings of which have been filled in.

The balustrade of the stair from the second floor to the attic consists of a molded handrail carried on square balusters and square posts. On the opposi te wall, a paneled wainscot repeats the profile of the handrail (AI though the panele d 1j1Tains cot, handrail) and newel post survive on the floor stair) the balusters were removed apparently when the treads were replaced.) The ceiling has been lowered at the level of the landing, but a trap door afunits one to the last flight and the enclosed section of the which led to the cupola.

i:::or!(, 'JO-]C(ja

(JlJly"909)

7. A

UNI

Ca:colina

C:caven

On the second floor the hall and both classrooms have v·rainscots to that on the first. The classroom doors are in reverse to those the floor below;; that is,, with the d side towa_:cd hall, Several sections of beaded rail plastered into the wall su:cvive in the rooms and downstairs hall. Generations of students have hung their coats and wraps on the tiny turned pegs vJhich are fitted into the rails.

Stcu1.ding northeast of the First Academy Building is the Second New Bern Academy Building" built in 1 88L. Although buil t much later" its overall design blends vJell wi th that of the earlier building. It is a two-story brick structure seven bays TJJide:; the central se ction proje cting as a shallovJ pavilion. A transverse false shouldered gable above the pavilion breaks through the hip roof and c2Trie s a vv-ooden bell tower. Smaller false gables appeal" on each ,side of the building liJhere large p chimney stacks previously existed.

The entire front (east) facade faced vJi th rubbe d brick laid in mechanical bond" is raised on a molded vJater table. The corners of the pavilion and the main block are strengthened by pilaster strips, The pavilion features a simple cornice enriched by enlarged dentils. Centered in the gable is a blind oculus above a stone tablet bearing the ins:ription lfNulla P alma Sine Pul vere" II freely translate d as:; "N 0 re~v-ard vJithout labor. A stone at the northeast corner of the facade reads IINmJ Bern Academy/'1884. The central entrance has a double door) each leaf containing four panels with applied moldings. The door is surmounted by a large four-light arched transom set in a segmental arch. It is protected by a small porch with roof carried on fluted cast iron colonnettes. At the second level above the entrance aTe three tall round-headed liJind()~Ts:; the central one being of greater height than those flanking it. On each of the sides of the p at both levels are windows with very tall) :carrow three -over-three sash.

The eaves of the roof are finished vJith a box cornice lacking the dentils of the pavilion cornice. At the top of the vJalls is a corbel band that continues across the pavilion but is interrupted by the pilaster strip . All windOWS except those of the pavilion have nine -over-nine trabeated sash set belovJ gauged brick segmental arches. The bell tower with arched on all four sides is topped by a gable roof . Additions containing stairs have been attached to both sides o[ the school and lavatory facilities adde at the rear.

Built on a center-hall plan tTvO rooms deep J the interior remains much the SaIne as it was constructed. TI1.e hall) which has a vertically sheathed dado and heavy chair rail" is dominated by a st:caight flight of staiTs bToken into two runs by an intermediate A massive turned nmvel post 2nd turned balusters ca:cry the molded h2ndrail. Closets beneath the stair are enclosed by ve:ctical sheathing. Each class:coom is entered

Ui'-!I

CraveD

TE

(lVumbo. ontda,,)

7. B

through a four-panel door above which is a three transom, The Halls aTe sheathed like those in the hall; horizontal paneling, hovlever, appears above the dado in several places. These panels vJere at one time painted black and evidently served as chalk boards. Large sliding doors occur be the rooms on each side of the hall. TDe second floor isjdentical in plan, and the rooms are finishe"d like those below.

LU

PERIOD (ellee/( One Or Moro us Approprinio)

o Pre-Columbian: 0 '161h Cenlury

o 151h Century o 17ih Ceniury

SPECIFIC DATE(s) (lfApplicDUic and Knol\'n)

o AgricuL-urc

QTI ArchItecture

DArt

o Coror,lerce

o ,Co;nmunicG'rions

o Conserva'cion

EMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

0 0 0 0 0

0 Qg

0

Educati on

Engineering

Industry

Inventi orr

Landscape

Arch i lecture

Li j-orature

IV,ilitary

t/lusic

,,' "

o 121h Century o 20th Century

19 th Century

0 Poliiical

0 Rei i 9 j a nl Phi -

lo::-ophy

0 Sci en ce

0 Scu Ip'rure

Socia I/Human-

j.otian

0 Thea'fer

0 T rens por·j-Q)"ion

In 1764 the General Assembly authorized construction of a school building) which Governor Tryon described in a letter to the Earl of Shelburp.e as r~he first established in this province by legislative authority 11 The building was completed by 1766./ al1.dthe Sauthier map of 1769 shows it on the block bordered by New) Jolillson) Middle) and Metcalf streets--the site still known as Academy Green and still occupied by educational structures. In 1784) the legislature gave the school the title "New Bern Academylf and appointed as trustees Richard Caswell) Abner Nash) John Wright Stanly) William Bryan) and Richard Dobbs Spaight.

This early building continued to serve until it burned about 1795. Thl' academy was moved to Tryon Palace) where classes were held until that too burned in 1798. The meeting place of the academy between that tllne and about 1806 when the present building was completed is not knowD) but it may well have been the west wing of Tryon Palace, which survived the fire) or Christ Church) ei ther of which would have provided a sui table meeting place.

The present building, now confusingly known as the First Academy Building, Was constructed in 1806. This date appears in a number of nine­teenth century records, and the structure certainly fits that date stylisti~ cally. In 1802 st. John's Masonic Lodge contributed for the construction of a new academy building. The most compelling proof for the ca. 1806 date; however, is James Price1s survey of New Bern, published in 1810. That survey lists lots 311, 312) and 313 on New Street and lots 327, 328) and 329 on Johnson Street, all at Hancock, as IIAcademy lots)!! and in the upper left hand corner of the survey is a dra~ving of the building) labeled "Academy. II There can be no doubt that the structure in the drawing is tJ1.e one that survives. It is shown with a cupola, which has since been removed.

The origin of the design for the building is not known, but Colonel JIO~ Whitford attributes it to James Coor, noting that

Coor was brought to Nev·J Bern from England by Thomas Weber designing some architectural vJork) that being the formers business, hence he drew the plans) as well as for his own house [Coor-Gaston House]) that of Mr. Tb.omas Webers [v1jnitford-1J\Tard House J, and several other d~vellings and the Academy, the old building still standing.

FormIO~:::()Oa

(July 19(9)

(Numbor G[Jcrios)

8. A

v

COUI'-lTY

C:raven

0,\ T,O:

COOl' Tvas practicing in NevJ Bern as December) 1777) vThen he took a free eight years) as to the house carpenters trade) and as late as 1784) when he took al1 named Solomon Johnson. on the houses cited by that it seems certain that was capable of the design for the Ne~T Bern Academy building) and although he died in 1796.5 he still could have d the structure. The 1760s blu'ned before Coor l s death, and although the replacement liV"aS not completed until ten years after he died, it could have been built in accordance with COOl" s de sign.

During the years that follmve the Nevv' Bern retained its reputation for excellence. Professor William Hooper of the University of North Carolina) in a s~eech before the North Carolina Institute of Education at Chapel Hill, JlU1e 30) 1832) said that 1I0f the institutions I have seen, those approaching nearest to my beau ideal of a school room are the celebrated Round Hill school in Massachusetts.') and the NevTbern [sic J Academy in this State." The history of education in Craven County before the Civil vIar is, to a very large extent the history of the New Bern Academy. 'Thomas notes th2,t

this school had more influence upon the history of the s ta te in -'the early ye ar s of the C OYi1,monviTe al th than any other institution save the Uni versi . the Ie ading me n of the State fr om 1790 to 'I came from the eastern part of the state around New Cape Fear, and Edenton The Majority of these men received the foundation of their training at the Ne"vJ Bern Academy.

A cursory reading of the names of the Board of Trustees of the New Bern Academy over the years and of the graduating classes reveals a IW110 IS vJhd' of North Carolina govermi1ent) education, and the arts, The se included vJilliam Gaston)' noted orator) state supreme court justice) and author of the North Carolina state song; John Stanly) member of the legislatuTe and of Congress Richard Dobbs Spaight, governor of NOl"th governor of the state of North Carolina; federal Constitution) governor of the SouthvJest Terri tory) and senator from Tennessee; Abner Nash, governor during British invasion) 1780-1781, and member of provincial and continental congresses ~ Francis Lister HaT0"ks and Cicero Hawks) prominent Episcopal clerics, the former a noted historian as well.

The New Bern Academy 211d its green 10"ere a focus of COmri1unl-cy acti IIi tie s Th.e academy building was) for the mee ting place of the Pre before the completion of their in 1822. \Ihen the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad vJas opened from Goldsboro to Nevv Bern on April 29.') 1958,; a great celebration w'as held. to Colonel Jolli'1 D. Whitford's unpublished history"of the Baptist Chur'ch in NetV' Bern>

10<3000 (July "196~))

cntrlOQ)

8. B

C:caven

No less tho.l1 ten thousand pe ) visi tors and citizens of the town;, asserl1bled on the Green at noon ... , two addY'esses vJeY'e delivered .

. a grand ball and at ended the proceedings ~\Thich had been conducted from the begilli:1ing to close -without balk of any kind.

Dl·\ TE

During the Civil "\Alar;, after Union force s entered the tovm in 1862) the building served as a hospital. After the vvar it vJas re claimed immediately for educational use.

It served the needs of the Ne~\T Bern schools until '/883;; ~,!hen the Board of Trustee s of the New Bern Academy expre all lIearnest desire to erect sui table buildings for the gY'aded school as Y'eco:mmended. f1

By JYlarch l~'J 1884.:1 subscriptions of $2)500 had been raised for the new building, and sale of academy property at another site bY'ought an $4)000 . .An architect) aNY'. Carroll) T;JaS a,sked to submit a design;; VJhich was soon approved. It was decided to locate the building (noT!'! kn01rTn as Second Academy Building) "on a line "GJith and 45 fee t due north fY'om the northeast corner of the Old Building. II At the groundbY'ealcing ceremony) JYIay 8:; ~v. H. 0 li ve r) chairman of the buil ding c ommi t te e;; f I afte r de li ve ring a neat and appropriate spee ch broke the groLLGd for the ne~1] building amid the applause of the multi tude) II 1~hereupon tithe pupils of the schools and citizens present joined in singing 101d North state I aCld IHo for Carolina. III

On the follmving Jun~ 13;, the cornerstone vvas laid) and by September the building vvas fa:c enough advanced for the board to order the finishing details. The building committee was given authority to erect a n8H fence around the Academy Green, buy stoves for the nevJ building) and lay drain tile. On June 30 J 1885) the cormni ttee reported that they had II so far as possible completed the duty assigned them) If and the grounds were properly finished.

The First and Second New Bern Academy buildings still serve their original purpose) since they are today part of the Central Elementary S of Ne~1] Bern. Each is significant as a fine and unusually 1vell-preserved example of its period of nineteenth century school architecture. Standing on the Academy Green, site of the ear'lier school believed to have been the first in the state established by the legislatUl"e) these Ne~v Bern Academy buildings are irr~ortant historically as the direct descendants of that first school and for their association with a distinguished l"oster of trustees and alurnl1i) probably unmatched by any other Carolina ins of primary and secondary education.

Craven County Hecords) Craven Courthouse) Nev,! Bern, North Carolina) Office of the Hegister of Deeds. ( Deeds) Wills).

Craven County Hecords) state North Carolina. (Subgroups

of Archives and History) Haleigh) Dee ds) Wills).

Thomas, Henderson Lee. npublic Education in Craven County. II Master IS

University of North Carolina, 1925.

STATE:

STATE:

STATE:

STATE:

NAME AND TITLE:

o

o

o

Degrees

o

35

E OF NOMINATED PROPERTY:

CODE COUNTY

CODE COUNTY:

CODE COUNTY:

CODE COUNTY:

Survey and Planning Uni t Staff 'J John B. Wells ORGANIZATION

OF LESS THAN TEN ACRES

LATITUDE

Minutes

06'

06

36"

37

Su ervisor DATE

CODE

CODE

State De artment of Archives and Histor ",July 8) 1971 STREET AND NUMBER:

109 East Jones Street

As 'the designated State Liaison Officer [or the Na­

tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law

89-665), I hereby nominate this property [or inclusion

in the National Re 6 ister and certify that it has been

evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set

forth by the National Park Service. The'recommended

level of significance of this nomination is:

Local

National 4f:~ /lOt '

Name C}().,l. U I VV~ H. G. Jones /

Title Director) State Department Archives and History

Da te July 8 -' 1971

o

of

I hereby certify that this property is included in the

National Register.

Chief, Office of Archeology and [--Jistori~ Preser'vation

Date

ATTEST;

Keeper of The Nati ona1 Register

Gate --------------------------------------

9·

Pickett. file s of the NevJ- Bel'n Histo=~'icc:~l

2 to of tJ:-l(j

NmrJ strcet:;

30

BeY'J.1.

Whi tfordJ Colone~ J-orm D.

Recorder c:u1.d Chu:c'ch in N8'/,j- Bern. 11

possession of lVIr. G. '1\~ll Ric~1.a:c·dsol1.) Bellair, l\Iev'l BCTl1., North Carolina.

\

------

Central Elementary School:

"~ -$

•• • Simmons-Knott

.. '

1. First New Bern AcademJrand 2. Second New Bern Academy buildings 311-313 New Street and 2. 517 Hancock Street, respectively

New Bern, North Carolina

of Craven C oun ty, State Highway Cormnission Scale 1"/1 mile

1, 1967 Latitude

degrees minutes seconds J5° 06' 36"

2. 3.5 0 06 f 37 fI

Longitude degrees minutes seconds

770 02 f 32" 77° 02' 31"

'~\

RK

Central Elementary School: 1. First New Bern Academy and 2. Second New 'Bern'Academy buildings

1. 311-313 New Street and 2. 517 Hancock Street, repectively New Bern, North Carolina

Map of' City of New Bern Gilfredo Gonzalez Sc ale : 1 II / 1 200 ' no date

Latitude degrees minutes seconds 1 Q 35° 06 1 36" 2. 35° 06' 37"

Longi tude degree s minutes

770 02 i 77 0 02 1

seconds 32" 31"

-N

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