During the Civil War, more than 10,000 refugees from slavery came to Union-occupied New Bern seeking freedom. By 1865, nearly 3,000 formerly enslaved people lived in the Trent River Settlement opposite New Bern in Craven County. The community was renamed James City after Rev. Horace James, Superintendent of Negro Affairs for the North Carolina District. In the decades to come, James City residents created a proud history of fighting for self-determination.

James City transformed into an independent community during the Reconstruction era. Citizens of James City started to build churches, start businesses, and farm the land around the city. At the same time, outside groups, such as the Teachers from the American Missionary Association and the Freedmen’s Bureau, founded schools and hospitals in the community.

As James City became more established after Civil War, new obstacles arose. The land ownership, which was part of the Clermont estate, was in dispute. James and Mary Bryan purchased the land and demanded rent from the James City residents that had not been collected for decades. The residents believed the Freedmen's Bureau had helped them secure legal title to the land, but that was not the case.

In the 1880s and 1890s, the Bryans started to increase rent to evict the tenants from their town. James City residents filed suit against the Bryan family, but much to their dismay, in 1892, the Supreme Court of North Carolina ruled in favor of the Bryan family.

After the ruling, many James City residents left, but about 700 black men and women continued to pay rent to the Bryan family. The residents who stayed on drew strength from one another and their strong family ties.