Chronology

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1. Reconstruction and the New South · 1866–1899

2. 1866
   Founding or opening · Hillsborough Twenty Black members leave First Baptist Church of Hillsborough and organize Mount Bright Baptist Church

   Twenty Black members withdrew from First Baptist Church of Hillsborough in 1866 and organized a congregation of their own, named for its first pastor, Rev. Alfred E. Bright. The widow of Governor William A. Graham gave the group the West Union Street site where the congregation still worships.

3. 1875
   Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Mount Bright Baptist Church builds its church in Hillsborough

   Mount Bright Baptist Church, the Black Baptist congregation in Hillsborough led by Alfred Bright, erected its church building in 1875.

4. Early twentieth century · 1900–1944

5. 1903
   Disaster or outbreak · Hillsborough Mount Bright Baptist Church's first building burns

   Fire destroyed Mount Bright Baptist Church's original building, on the lot Susan Graham had given the congregation. The 2014 Hillsborough Historic District documentation places that first church on South Churton Street near the Eno, before the congregation moved to West Union Street early in the twentieth century.

6. 1906
   Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Mount Bright Baptist Church is rebuilt

   Three years after the fire, Mount Bright's members raised a new church; the Rev. Alvis Whitted was then the pastor. The congregation's present church on West Union Street dates from 1979.

7. Civil rights era · 1945–1975

8. about 1958-1961
   Construction or physical change · Mount Bright Baptist Church, Hillsborough Mount Bright Baptist Church buys its first electronic organ and moves to full-time services

   In Fred J. Boddie Jr.'s three-year pastorate the congregation bought its first electronic organ and moved to a full-time schedule of services.

9. 1961
   Construction or physical change · Mount Bright Baptist Church, Hillsborough Mount Bright Baptist Church buys the Ellison lot and builds its first parsonage

   Under its pastor Fred J. Boddie Jr. the congregation bought the Ellison home lot and put up its first parsonage there.

10. Recent decades · 1976–2026

11. 1979
    Construction or physical change · Mount Bright Baptist Church, 211 West Union Street, Hillsborough Mount Bright Baptist Church builds its present brick church

    The congregation replaced its earlier church on West Union Street with a one-story brick church with a steeple, and added an education building at the rear in 1990.

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Compiled and maintained by the Friends of the Orange County Public Library from county records, the sources named on each card, and the index’s event pages. Last updated October 2, 2026.