Newbern Presbyterian Church was organized on November 16, 1844 under the Presbytery of South Alabama by the Rev. Thomas Witherspoon and 21 charter members. The petition to Presbytery was signed by T. A. Borden, Anne Borden, Wm. Ervin, Eliza Ervin, Mrs. Rebeccah Hanna, A. & S. Hardin, and Mrs. Martha Jenkins, and the names Croom, Tinker, Mendow, Pearce, and Huckabee were also among the charter members. Two women served on the early Board of Elders contrary to Presbyterian rules of order. Organized in 1844 by North Carolinians who had settled the area in the 1830s, the church was built in 1848 and typifies rural church architecture of the Old South. The building stands in near-original form, with hand-hewn lumber joined with wooden pegs. Early membership included slaves who sat on benches flanking the pulpit. The church has always been without a resident minister but has held monthly services and maintained an active church life.