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New Bern, North Carolina
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New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern (pronounced /'nu bərn/ NEW-bern, with stress on "New" & with "Bern" destressed, i.e. not the same stress pattern as "New YORK"), formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse and the Trent Rivers, near the headwaters of Pamlico Sound on the North Carolina coast. It lies 112 miles (180 km) east of Raleigh, 89 miles (143 km) north of Wilmington, and 162 miles (261 km) south of Norfolk, Virginia.
New Bern was founded in October 1710 by the Palatines and Swiss under the leadership of Christoph von Graffenried. The new colonists named their settlement after Bern, the Swiss region from which many of the colonists and their patron had emigrated. New Bern is the second-oldest European-settled colonial town in North Carolina, after Bath. It served as the capital of North Carolina from 1770 to 1792. After the American Revolution (1775–1783), New Bern became wealthy and quickly developed a rich cultural life. At one time, New Bern was called "the Athens of the South", renowned for its Masonic Temple and Athens Theater. These are both still very active today.
New Bern has four historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places; their numerous contributing buildings include residences, stores, and churches dating back to the early 18th century. Within walking distance of the waterfront are more than 164 homes and buildings listed on the National Register. Also nearby are several bed and breakfasts, hotels, restaurants, banks, antiques stores, and specialty shops. The historic districts contain many of the city's 2,000 crape myrtles—its official flower—and developed gardens. New Bern has two "Local Historic Districts", a municipal zoning overlay that affords legal protection to the exteriors of New Bern's historic structures.
New Bern was settled in October 1710 by the Palatines and Swiss under the leadership of Christoph von Graffenried. The new colonists named their settlement after the Canton of Bern, home of their patron. Von Graffenried had the original plat of the town laid out in the shape of a cross, though later development and additional streets have obscured this pattern within the regular street grid. The British governor's palace (present-day Tryon Palace) served as the capitol of North Carolina from 1770 until the state government relocated to Raleigh in 1792, after a fire had destroyed much of the capitol. This became the first permanent capital city of North Carolina.
No printer was available in North Carolina until 1749, when the North Carolina Assembly commissioned James Davis from Williamsburg, Virginia, to act as their official printer. Before this time, the laws and legal journals of North Carolina were handwritten and were largely kept in a disorganized manner, prompting them to hire Davis. Davis settled in New Bern and was appointed by colonial postmaster general Benjamin Franklin as North Carolina's first postmaster, who also became active in North Carolina's politics, as a member of the assembly and later as the sheriff. Davis also founded and printed the North-Carolina Gazette in New Bern, North Carolina's first newspaper.
During the 19th-century Federal period, New Bern became the largest city in North Carolina, developed on the trade of goods and slaves associated with plantation agriculture. After Raleigh was named the state capital in 1792, New Bern rebuilt its economy by expanding on trade via shipping routes to the Caribbean and New England. It was part of the Triangle Trade in sugar, slaves, and desired goods. It reached a population of 3,600 in 1815.
In 1862 during the early stages of the American Civil War, the area was the site of the Battle of New Bern. Federal (Union) forces captured and occupied the town until the end of the war in 1865. Nearly 10,000 enslaved blacks escaped during this period in the region and went to the Union Army camps for protection and freedom. The Union Army set up the Trent River contraband camp at New Bern to house the refugees. It organized the adults for work. Missionaries came to teach literacy to both adults and children.
Due to the continuous occupation by the Union Army, New Bern avoided some of the destruction of the war years. Much social disruption occurred because of the occupation and the thousands of freedmen camped near the city. Whereas the 1860 Census had shown a population of 5,432 (of whom 3,072, or 57%, were black), the population had swollen by the end of the war to more than 20,000, mostly because of the influx of freedmen. Still, New Bern recovered more quickly than many cities after the war. By the 1870s, the lumber industry was developing as the chief part of New Bern's economy. Timber harvested could be sent down the two nearby rivers. The city continued to be a center for freedmen, who created communities independent of white supervision, thriving churches, fraternal associations, and their own businesses. By 1877, the city had a majority-black population.
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New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern (pronounced /'nu bərn/ NEW-bern, with stress on "New" & with "Bern" destressed, i.e. not the same stress pattern as "New YORK"), formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse and the Trent Rivers, near the headwaters of Pamlico Sound on the North Carolina coast. It lies 112 miles (180 km) east of Raleigh, 89 miles (143 km) north of Wilmington, and 162 miles (261 km) south of Norfolk, Virginia.
New Bern was founded in October 1710 by the Palatines and Swiss under the leadership of Christoph von Graffenried. The new colonists named their settlement after Bern, the Swiss region from which many of the colonists and their patron had emigrated. New Bern is the second-oldest European-settled colonial town in North Carolina, after Bath. It served as the capital of North Carolina from 1770 to 1792. After the American Revolution (1775–1783), New Bern became wealthy and quickly developed a rich cultural life. At one time, New Bern was called "the Athens of the South", renowned for its Masonic Temple and Athens Theater. These are both still very active today.
New Bern has four historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places; their numerous contributing buildings include residences, stores, and churches dating back to the early 18th century. Within walking distance of the waterfront are more than 164 homes and buildings listed on the National Register. Also nearby are several bed and breakfasts, hotels, restaurants, banks, antiques stores, and specialty shops. The historic districts contain many of the city's 2,000 crape myrtles—its official flower—and developed gardens. New Bern has two "Local Historic Districts", a municipal zoning overlay that affords legal protection to the exteriors of New Bern's historic structures.
New Bern was settled in October 1710 by the Palatines and Swiss under the leadership of Christoph von Graffenried. The new colonists named their settlement after the Canton of Bern, home of their patron. Von Graffenried had the original plat of the town laid out in the shape of a cross, though later development and additional streets have obscured this pattern within the regular street grid. The British governor's palace (present-day Tryon Palace) served as the capitol of North Carolina from 1770 until the state government relocated to Raleigh in 1792, after a fire had destroyed much of the capitol. This became the first permanent capital city of North Carolina.
No printer was available in North Carolina until 1749, when the North Carolina Assembly commissioned James Davis from Williamsburg, Virginia, to act as their official printer. Before this time, the laws and legal journals of North Carolina were handwritten and were largely kept in a disorganized manner, prompting them to hire Davis. Davis settled in New Bern and was appointed by colonial postmaster general Benjamin Franklin as North Carolina's first postmaster, who also became active in North Carolina's politics, as a member of the assembly and later as the sheriff. Davis also founded and printed the North-Carolina Gazette in New Bern, North Carolina's first newspaper.
During the 19th-century Federal period, New Bern became the largest city in North Carolina, developed on the trade of goods and slaves associated with plantation agriculture. After Raleigh was named the state capital in 1792, New Bern rebuilt its economy by expanding on trade via shipping routes to the Caribbean and New England. It was part of the Triangle Trade in sugar, slaves, and desired goods. It reached a population of 3,600 in 1815.
In 1862 during the early stages of the American Civil War, the area was the site of the Battle of New Bern. Federal (Union) forces captured and occupied the town until the end of the war in 1865. Nearly 10,000 enslaved blacks escaped during this period in the region and went to the Union Army camps for protection and freedom. The Union Army set up the Trent River contraband camp at New Bern to house the refugees. It organized the adults for work. Missionaries came to teach literacy to both adults and children.
Due to the continuous occupation by the Union Army, New Bern avoided some of the destruction of the war years. Much social disruption occurred because of the occupation and the thousands of freedmen camped near the city. Whereas the 1860 Census had shown a population of 5,432 (of whom 3,072, or 57%, were black), the population had swollen by the end of the war to more than 20,000, mostly because of the influx of freedmen. Still, New Bern recovered more quickly than many cities after the war. By the 1870s, the lumber industry was developing as the chief part of New Bern's economy. Timber harvested could be sent down the two nearby rivers. The city continued to be a center for freedmen, who created communities independent of white supervision, thriving churches, fraternal associations, and their own businesses. By 1877, the city had a majority-black population.
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