Special Collections & Archives

According to Morgan Edwards, Great Cohara was named for a creek emptying into the Cape Fear River, near the meeting house in what was then Duplin County, N.C., 60 miles west of New Bern. The church was known by several names but by 1828 it became known as Rowan. In 1846 forty-four members were dismissed and formed Boykin's Chapel. This collection contains minutes of quarterly and yearly meetings of the "church in Sampson County" or "Roan", now Rowan Baptist Church, including the organization of the church; rules of decorum; male, female, and enslaved peoples' membership rolls, undated lists of members of Culbirth's (now Pleasant Union) and Fork meeting houses; an 1846 list of members of Boykin's Chapel; a copy of a 1771 church letter from Morristown, N.J.; and a history of the church.

Wells Chapel Baptist Church is located near Wallace, N.C. in Duplin County. It was organized as Bulltail or Bultail in 1756 with the Rev. Samuel Newton as the first pastor. Bulltail was affiliated with the Kehukee Association in its early years. In June of 1935, the name of "Bulltail" was changed to Wells Chapel. It is at present (1964) in the Easter Association. This collection contains minutes of church conferences; male, female, and black membership rolls; historical sketches; and miscellaneous papers.