A moment to appreciate the bricks cladding Jackson Chapel First Missionary Baptist Church’s handsome Romanesque sanctuary, erected in 1913. By that time, brickmaking in eastern North Carolina had largely transitioned from hand molding to wire-cut extrusion machines that used tight wires to slice clay pushed through a die. This process yielded bricks with a more uniform shape than earlier products, but still with rustic, textured surfaces. Bricks ranging in tone from a bright orangey-red to oxblood were used to construct the storefronts, warehouses, and churches still found in Wilson’s historic districts.

We don’t know who the contractor who built Jackson Chapel was, but it’s reasonable to assume it was one of the many highly skilled black brickmasons in the community, such as John Mack Barnes, who built nearby Saint John A.M.E. Zion. Several of Jackson Chapel’s bricks show penciled calculations that could be graffiti, but are more likely quick calculations scratched out by bricklayers working out course heights, spacing, and material quantities. If so, these figures offer a rare glimpse of the craftsmen behind the work. 

By the way, contrast the smooth, uniformly bland face of the brick used for the church’s 2001 addition. 

Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, August 2026.