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  • Created Equal

    From Bondage to Freedom in James City

    The James City Historical Society (JCHS) announces the launch of its project, “Created Equal: From Bondage to Freedom in James City.” The project is supported in part by a grant from America 250 NC, which is North Carolina’s commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary and is led by the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

    Focusing on the words “created equal” in the Declaration of Independence, the project honors how African Americans have fought to fulfill that promise of equality both nationally and locally. The project explores the history of the James City community from the American Revolution to the present. It documents the essential role of African Americans in the founding of our nation, in eastern North Carolina and beyond.

    Our digital exhibit features a story map that chronicles the history of the Civil War in Eastern North Carolina and the formation of what became James City. The exhibit also includes an archive of primary sources on the history of James City.

    Click the image below to explore the freedom journey of James City.

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    JAMES CITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

    Caretaker of two

    Historical Treasures:

    Circa 1850 SLAVE QUARTERS
    and the

    FAR CEMETERY

  • The James City Historical Society was founded in 1991 to honor the first community of formerly enslaved people in North Carolina. During the Civil War, more than 10,000 refugees from slavery came to Union-occupied New Bern seeking freedom. By 1865, there were nearly 3,000 formerly enslaved people living in the Trent River Settlement opposite New Bern in Craven County. The community was renamed James City, after Rev. Horace James, Superintendent of Negro Affairs for the North Carolina District. In the decades to come, James City residents created a proud history of fighting for self-determination. Today the JCHS is the caretaker of two historical treasures: the Far Cemetery and the Circa 1850 Slave Quarters.

  • RESERVE A TOUR

    Cross the threshold into a time when people were treated as property, their very humanity taken from them. As you enter the place they called home, notice the faces that stare back at you. How did they endure under such conditions? Imagine they are speaking to you now. What would they say?

    Honor the graves of the unknown dead, whose tombstones were bulldozed away. What memories were erased? How can we restore those memories today?

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