Special Collections & Archives

Poplar Springs Baptist Church was constituted June 7, 1788 and reconstituted June 7, 1849. This church has been a member of the Kehukee (1793; 1804-23), Neuse I [E] (1794-1801), Raleigh (1823?-32) and Tar River (1832- present) Baptist Associations. Records consist of minutes of church conferences from June 7, 1788 to September 15, 1877 [broken series], including a church covenant, membership rolls, and miscellaneous papers including a deed (1882) with a note written in 1931; a copy of an undated portion of the church minutes, a slip recording receipts and reimbursements, and a request for a church letter from Ohio, 1877.

Sandy Creek Baptist Church was organized in 1770 by Elder William Walker, who served the church as its first pastor until his death in 1784. The church had been an arm of Reedy Creek Baptist Church. The Tar River Baptist Association was formed at Sandy Creek in 1831. This collection consists of minutes of church conferences, a sketch of the church buildings; male, female, and Black membership lists, a church resolutions, and birth records for the Carlyle, Edwards, and Ballard families.