The church was built in brick for a congregation formed in 1800. The cornerstone was laid in 1816. A drawing made in 1822 shows a 2-story brick building of Federal style with two round-arched entrances and a steeple. The church burned in the city’s “great fire” of 1831, and it was rebuilt on the old walls from plans donated by Alexander Jackson Davis including a Town Truss roof. Several further remodelings have been accomplished over the years (see Hobart Upjohn). See Ruth Little-Stokes, First Presbyterian Church National Register nomination at http://www.hpo.ncdcr.gov/nr/CD0004.pdf.