A Fire Bell in the Night

The burning of Christ Church in 1871

Christ Episcopal Church, photograph by J.D. Heywood, c. 1865

by John B. Green, III

Two photographs in our collection, never before published, provide an opportunity to recount the Pollock Street fire of January 10, 1871 which culminated in the destruction of New Bern's Christ Episcopal Church.  These photographs provide rare before and after images of Christ Church, constructed between 1821 and 1824, and burned to its brick walls in 1871.  The first photograph by J.D. Heywood shows the church as it stood about 1865 during the Union Army occupation of the town.  A Union soldier can be seen standing near the corner of Pollock and Middle streets with the church behind him.  The second photo by an unknown photographer reveals the blackened walls of the church shortly after the fire.

Ruins of Christ Episcopal Church, unknown photographer, c.1871.

The fire began in a stable behind Hahn's Bakery on Pollock Street opposite the church late on the evening of January 10 and quickly spread to adjacent commercial structures.  Although the New Bern fire companies responded to the blaze, they were unable to prevent embers from drifting across to the wood-shingled roof of the church.  Christ Church was soon reduced to its brick walls with only the brick base of its tower remaining. It is said that the church bell rang out one last time as it crashed to the ground amid the flaming timbers.

No New Bern newspapers survive for the first days after the fire. This notice was copied from the Newbern Journal of Commerce by the Charlotte Democrat, 17 January 1871.

Within days the congregation of Christ Church had set about to rebuild.  Church services were transferred to the chapel in the parish's parochial school (the former stable wing of Tryon Palace) and the offer of the use of First Presbyterian Church was gratefully accepted for evening meetings.  Fund raising began in earnest in February with donations and pledges being solicited and concerts and excursions being planned.

Of all the fund-raising activities, those conducted by the Juvenile Sewing Society of Christ Church, were the most endearing.  A group of girls, aged five to thirteen, was organized by a lady of the church with the goal of teaching them sewing and helping them to raise money from the sale of the items they produced.  They quickly were able to raise $100 for the rebuilding and eventually were able to provide enough money to purchase and install one of the principal windows of the rebuilt sanctuary.  Still in place today above the altar is the large stained-glass window with a scene of Christ blessing the little children.

Cover, Esclairmond Claremont, Answer to an Appeal, for the Benefit of the Church, lovingly inscribed to a Former Pastor, 1871

The burning of the church and the activities of the Juvenile Sewing Society are documented in a small volume published by an adult member of the congregation under the pen name "Esclairmond Claremont."  The twenty-seven page publication, Answer to an Appeal, for the Benefit of the Church, Lovingly Inscribed to a Former Pastor, was copyrighted in 1871 in the name of "The Juvenile Sewing Society of Christ's Church, Newbern, N.C.," and was sold to raise money for the reconstruction.

Christ Episcopal Church, as reconstructed, photographer unknown, c. 1900.

Although the rebuilding of the church moved slowly, by April 1873 the church was able to host a visit from the bishop as well as the Easter services.  The building would be occupied on a regular basis by the fall of that year.  Additional work on the church would continue for the next twelve years with the porch being completed in 1884 and the spire in 1885 before the last vestige of the fire of 1871 had been erased.

The Henderson-Dunn House

or the strange things that happen to old houses

Henderson-Dunn House, northwest corner of Metcalf and Broad streets, photograph c. 1880.

by John B. Green III

New Bernians sometimes tear houses down. We are also known to move houses to new locations. Less well known is the local habit of taking houses apart and scattering the bits about town.  Many an historic house in downtown New Bern contains mantels or doors or flooring that were once in other historic structures.  In one extreme example, a 1960s house contains the decorative finish of an entire early-19th century room removed from the family home before it was demolished. Yet for all of this, a still stranger fate befell the Henderson-Dunn House - that of having its second floor severed from it first floor and both parts moved to different locations in New Bern. There they were reborn as single- story residences. And since neither structure now needed a staircase, its parts went into storage in a third location!

Sited on Lot 260 on the northwest corner of Metcalf and Broad streets, the Henderson-Dunn House was designed in the Italianate-style popular in New Bern from the 1850s through the 1880s. The two-story frame structure featured plain siding with prominent corner pilasters, a full-width front porch, and a low hip roof with broad overhang supported by sawn-work brackets with turned pendants.  Although the precise construction date of the Henderson-Dunn House is not known, it may have been the house advertised for sale on June 15, 1859 by Benners A. Ensley as a "Valuable property for sale in the town of Newbern" and as the "House and lot on the corner of Metcalf and Broad Streets . . .  where he now resides." Ensley had purchased Lot 260 on the northwest corner of Metcalf and Broad streets at a foreclosure sale January 20, 1859 for the considerable amount of $2,000.  The previous owner, Benjamin M. Cook, had purchased the property for $800 in 1847, a sale price which probably indicated that the lot was vacant at that time. Considering the increase in value between 1847 and 1859 it is possible that the house was constructed by Cook during his twelve-year ownership.

Ensley apparently had no takers for the house in 1859 and, following the Civil War, again attempted to sell it. He advertised the property on  March 27, 1866 as the "Valuable residence property . . . on the Northwest corner of Broad and Metcalf streets, with large and commodious dwelling and out-houses attached."  Again, no buyers stepped forward, and by 1869 Benners A. Ensley was bankrupt. Amos Wade, one of Ensley's creditors, purchased the property at a sheriff's sale on June 29, 1869. Wade sold the house and lot to Lisette E. Henderson four years later in 1873 for $2,500.

Henderson-Dunn House, northwest corner of Metcalf and Broad streets, photograph c. 1930.

Lisette E. Henderson was the wife of George Henderson, New Bern insurance agent and businessman.  The house on the northwest corner of Broad and Metcalf streets would serve as their home for the rest of their lives - she dying in 1914 and he in 1932.  It would later become the home of their daughter Emma Henderson Powell Dunn. Mrs. Dunn was long involved in the preservation and promotion of New Bern's history, serving in 1921 as the organizing and first regent of the Richard Dobbs Spaight Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and as one of the founders of the New Bern Historical Society in 1923. She published the first illustrated guide book to New Bern and its history in 1905 - New Bern, North Carolina, Founded by De Graffenried in 1710, Colonial New Bern, New Bern of Today.

Title page, New Bern, North Carolina . . . Colonial New Bern, New Bern of Today, 1905

Emma Henderson Powell Dunn died in 1956 and the house passed to her nephews. One year later the property was sold to New Bern businessmen Robert L. Stallings, Jr. and D.L. Stallings.

And now for the strange fate of the Henderson-Dunn house alluded to in our first paragraph - the separation of the first and second floors.  Once severed, the first floor was moved approximately 1.24 miles to a lot on National Avenue just beyond the National Cemetery. There it received a new roof and became a single-story residence. It survived at the new site for more than forty years before it was finally demolished.  The second floor was moved approximately two miles to a new site on Stallings Parkway where it survives to this day.

House said to be the second floor of the Henderson-Dunn House, Stallings Parkway, New Bern. Photo by the author.

But what of the orphaned staircase?  The stair, now in pieces, was stored beneath a nearby house on Metcalf Street and about 1990 donated to the New Bern Preservation Foundation which then sold it to a private collector.

Stair newel post, Henderson-Dunn House. Photo by the author.