Mt. Bright Baptist Church

Named after its first pastor, Rev. Alfred E. Bright, the Mt. Bright Baptist Church was officially organized after the Civil War in 1866, for free Black people. Before the church was founded, Black congregants attended First Baptist Church but had to enter through a seperate door in the back. Mt. Bright Baptist Church held services for Black people before 1866 and was one of the first Black churches in Hillsborough. The original structure sat on land gifted to the church by Susan Washington Graham, the wife of Governor Graham in 1843. The building was destroyed by a fire in 1903 and the church was rebuilt in 1906. Before the church was rebuilt, people had to perform baptisms in the Eno River until the baptistery was placed in the Church. Later in the church's history, it was a place where Civil Rights leaders could meet and make plans together. Under the leadership of Pastor Alvis Whitted, Mount Bright Baptist Church assumed its current form in 1979. The church continues to have a thriving community to this day.