62-530: Tryon Palace , also called the Governor's House and the Governor's Palace , is a two-story building located in the eastern part of New Bern, North Carolina . The building is a faithful reconstruction of the original 1770 residence built by architect John Hawks . The original building was destroyed by fire in 1798. Serving as the official residence and offices of the British governors of North Carolina from 1770 until
124-552: A 200-seat state-of-the-art performing arts hall, a waterfront café, and program and administrative space. Visitors enter the Pepsi Family Center via a virtual time machine that takes them to the year 1835 in Craven County . Here, historic roles can be adopted that allow for a number of hands-on activities. The Center provides an intergenerational, interactive learning adventure for parents and children working as teams: sailing
186-538: A concentration of the state's black residents. They elected four blacks to the US Congress in the late 19th century. The state's passage of a constitutional suffrage amendment in 1900 used various devices to disenfranchise black citizens. As a result, they were totally closed out of the political process, including participation on juries and in local offices; white Democrats maintained this suppression mostly, until after passage of federal civil rights legislation, including
248-405: 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. There
310-480: A draftsman. In 1763 he wrote a Treatis on Public Architecture and Garden Planning that reflects a strong influence of two 18th-century French master gardeners, one of whom trained with the designer of Versailles. Sauthier came to America before the Revolution to work as a mapmaker. In 1768, Governor Tryon employed him to draw a series of North Carolina town maps, including one of New Bern. Similarities of style between
372-462: A median resident age of 38.8. The percentage of residents under the age of 18 was 24.2%. The 2012 racial breakdown includes White alone – 16,304 (54%), Black alone – 9,634 (31.9%), Asian alone – 1,844 (6.1%), Hispanic – 1,626 (5.4%), Two or more races – 747 (2.5%), American Indian alone – 50 (0.2%) and Other race alone – 13 (0.04%). The median income for a household in the city in 2015 was $ 41,285. The City of New Bern 2010 Census information shows
434-740: 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
496-556: 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 state of their patron. Von Graffenried had the original plat of the town laid out in the shape of
558-619: A school, a boarding house, and a Masonic lodge. A cellar fire started in 1798, consuming the Palace proper. Only the Kitchen and Stable Offices were saved. However, the Kitchen Office was razed at the beginning of the 19th century. Of the original buildings, only the Stable Office still stands. In the 1930s, a movement began to preserve Colonial New Bern. The movement was bolstered by the discovery of
620-422: A ship, distilling turpentine and producing naval stores, piecing an electronic quilt, and helping the shopkeeper find merchandise for customers in the dry goods store. The Regional History Museum has been transformed from a conventional artifact-based museum to one that incorporates layered contextual graphics, multimedia and visitor interactivity. It takes the visitor on an exploration of the interrelationships of
682-553: A variety of wildlife In October 2010, Tryon Palace opened the North Carolina History Center, a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m) facility on six acres. It features interactive technology and living history programs. The new building contains two major museums – the Pepsi Family Center and the Regional History Museum, a museum store, two orientation rooms and a larger programming space usable as classrooms,
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#1732848513104744-593: Is 368.64 acres (149.18 ha) or 0.576 square miles (1.49 km ); the Riverside Local Historic District covers 51.94 acres (21.02 ha) or 0.081 square miles (0.21 km ). Union Point Park borders the Neuse and Trent rivers. New Bern's location near the Atlantic coast renders it subject to the effects of Atlantic hurricane seasons . For example, in the 18th century the town suffered severe damage in
806-483: Is a city in and the county seat of Craven County, North Carolina , United States. At the 2020 census , it had a population of 31,291. 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 . New Bern
868-433: Is captured in a large underground cistern that recycles the water for irrigation and replenishment of the wetlands. The parking area also has a permeable surface allowing for absorption of run-off. The building is constructed of recycled materials. A commissioning agent has insured the operational efficiency of all mechanical and electrical equipment. And, the North Carolina History Center is planned for LEED certification at
930-543: Is located in White Plains, New York , but was named after the town where Pepsi-Cola was first developed. The north–south U.S. Route 17 and the east–west U.S. Route 70 pass through New Bern. As late as 1950, the Atlantic and East Carolina Railway offered passenger train service through New Bern to Morehead City to the east, by the Atlantic coast and to Goldsboro Union Station , where timed connections could be made with
992-476: Is water. U.S. routes 17 and 70 pass through the city, merging briefly as a four-lane expressway passing south of the city center. US 70 leads west 33 miles (53 km) to Kinston and southeast 35 miles (56 km) to Morehead City near the Atlantic Ocean. Raleigh , the state capital, is 112 miles (180 km) west via US 70. US 17 leads southwest 37 miles (60 km) to Jacksonville , and crosses
1054-663: 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
1116-476: The American Revolution , the original building was seized by provincial militia in 1775. The palace was the site of the first few sessions of the state legislature following the 1783 treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolutionary War , and served as the state house until 1792 when the capital was relocated to Raleigh . The rebuilt building was erected on the original palace grounds in
1178-746: The American Revolutionary War Spaight returned to North Carolina, serving as aide-de-camp to Major General Richard Caswell at the Battle of Camden . The North Carolina General Assembly elected Spaight a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation between 1782 and 1785; he then served in the North Carolina House of Commons from 1785 to 1787 and was named speaker of the House . In 1787, he
1240-574: 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 forces captured and occupied the town until the end of the war in 1865. Nearly 10,000 enslaved blacks escaped during this period in
1302-558: The Great Chesapeake Bay Hurricane of 1769 . Other hurricanes such as Hurricane Ione in 1955 and Hurricane Floyd in 1999 have also caused significant flooding and damage. In September 2018, Hurricane Florence made landfall in the United States just south of Wrightsville Beach , 88.4 miles southwest of New Bern. A storm surge of up to 13.5 feet, in addition to days of heavy rains, severely flooded various parts of
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#17328485131041364-598: The Northwest Ordinance of 1784 . Spaight died on September 6, 1802, following injuries sustained in a duel with John Stanly, the Federalist congressman who had defeated him in the election of 1800 for the House of Representatives. Spaight is buried at "Clermont," near New Bern, North Carolina. Spaight Street in Madison, Wisconsin , is named in his honor. Most of the main streets in downtown Madison are named after signers of
1426-596: The Southern Railway 's trains to central and western North Carolina. Service was terminated by the end of 1951. Richard Dobbs Spaight Richard Dobbs Spaight (March 25, 1758 – September 6, 1802) was an American Founding Father , politician, planter , and signer of the United States Constitution , who served as a Democratic-Republican U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 10th congressional district from 1798 to 1801. Spaight
1488-481: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 , which provided for federal enforcement of constitutional rights. By 1890 New Bern had become the largest lumber center in North Carolina and one of the largest in all of the South. During this time, as many as 16 lumber mills were running and employing hundreds of men from New Bern and the area. The competitive nature of the lumber barons, the abundance of lumber and craftsmen, led to
1550-404: The 1950s and opened to the public as a house museum in 1959. The 18th century gardens were also recreated, with 16 acres (6.5 ha) of plantings, representing three centuries of landscape and gardening heritage. Today, it is a state-owned historic site . William Tryon was a British officer and colonial official who served as the governor of North-Carolina from 1765 to 1771. Tryon had seen
1612-565: The Academia Nacional de la Historia in Venezuela they found a garden plan Palace architect John Hawks gave to Venezuelan traveler Francisco de Miranda , who admired the Palace greatly when he visited New Bern in 1783. This plan suggests a strong French influence instead of the more-to-be-expected English garden style. It is likely the work of Sauthier, who was born in France in 1736 and trained as
1674-690: The American Revolution, the early national period, and the Civil War. The New Bern Academy was the first school in North Carolina established by legal mandate, in 1766. Like the Palace, the original academy building was destroyed by fire, this one in 1795. The current structure was built between 1806 and 1809. The Palace's 16 acres (65,000 m) of gardens span three centuries of gardening history. Anchored by 20th-century Colonial Revival interpretations of earlier periods, these also include an 18th-century Wilderness Garden featuring native plants that greeted
1736-591: The City of New Bern, 88.2% of which were occupied housing units. New Bern has several sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Coastal Carolina Regional Airport is a public airport located 3 miles (5 km) south of the central business district of New Bern. The airport offers connecting flights to Charlotte daily. The New Bern Transport Corporation, a business entity owned by PepsiCo to manage its fleet of delivery trucks and other motor vehicles,
1798-519: The Constitution, although Spaight supported ratification. On March 24, 1788, he married Mary Leach, who had the distinction of being the first lady to dance with George Washington at a ball in Washington's honor at the Governor's Palace, New Bern , in 1791. Spaight retired from politics for several years because of ill health; he returned to the state House of Representatives in 1792. Also, in 1792, he
1860-503: The Neuse River on a new bridge to lead north 36 miles (58 km) to Washington . New Bern experiences a humid subtropical climate typical of the Atlantic coastal plain . Summers are hot and humid, with frequent afternoon thunderstorms that account for much of the higher summer precipitation. Spring and fall are generally mild, with fall foliage occurring from late October to early November. Winters are relatively mild and drier than
1922-530: The North Carolina Senate beginning in 1801. Spaight was part of the planter class and an extensive enslaver. According to census records, he enslaved 71 people in 1790 and 83 people in 1800. At the time of his death in 1802, he was enslaving 89 people. As a delegate to the Confederation Congress , Spaight led the successful effort to eliminate Thomas Jefferson 's proposed ban on slavery from
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1984-575: The Palace once it opened to the public. Mrs. Latham did not live to see the rebuilding of the Palace. After her death in 1951, her daughter Mae Gordon Kellenberger oversaw the efforts. The first obstacles to overcome were moving as many as 50 or more buildings, rerouting U.S. Highway 70 , and building a new bridge over the Trent River. These structures covered the foundations of the original building. Archaeological work also had to be done before construction could begin. Once it did, craftspeople from all over
2046-462: The United States were recruited. There were also visits to the United Kingdom to procure period-accurate furniture. Finally, the public was able to visit it for the first time in 1959. The Tryon Palace Historic Site includes several structures besides the main building. The Stable Offices is the only original structure still standing. The Kitchen Office is separate from the Palace, as was usual at
2108-489: The central coastal area of North Carolina with the world, teaching how local events influenced, or were influenced by, state, national and international events. The North Carolina History Center is housed in a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m) building on a six-acre site on the Trent River adjacent to the Governor's Palace (west side) and downtown New Bern (east side). The site is a former industrial or Brownfield land site. It
2170-482: The chief part of New Bern's economy. Timber harvested could be sent downriver by 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. The state legislature defined the city and county as part of North Carolina's 2nd congressional district which, as former plantation territory, held
2232-608: The constitutional limit of three one-year terms. Spaight was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1798, filling the unexpired term of Nathan Bryan ; he was elected to a two-year term in 1799, serving until 1801, and though elected as a Federalist, his views on states rights led him to become associated with the Democratic-Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson . He lost his bid for re-election to Congress but returned to state government, serving in
2294-416: The construction in New Bern of some of the finest homes in the South, many of which have survived. The lumber boom lasted until the 1920s. One by one the lumber mills went out of business. Today only Weyerhaeuser manufactures lumber in the area. The city has four National Historic Districts and two local ones, which have helped preserve the character of the architecture. The Downtown Local Historic District
2356-411: The early eighteenth 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",
2418-466: The first European settlers in this area and lush displays favored by the Victorians. While Governor Tryon seems to have had little interest in horticulture, two maps of New Bern drawn by Claude J. Sauthier in 1769, when the Palace was still under construction, reveal two different garden plans. More than two centuries later, in 1991, Palace researchers discovered yet another plan. In the collections of
2480-574: The furnishings were auctioned off to fund its administration. North Carolina was admitted to the newly formed United States in 1789. Three years later, the North Carolina State House was built in Raleigh as the state capitol. Four state governors lived in the palace – Richard Caswell , Abner Nash, Alexander Martin, and U.S. Founding Father Richard Dobbs Spaight . The Palace was subsequently used for several different purposes, including
2542-690: The grandfather of U.S. Representative Richard Spaight Donnell . Spaight was born in New Bern, North Carolina , the son of the secretary of the Crown in the colony and grand-nephew of North Carolina Governor Arthur Dobbs . Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to live with his Dobbs relatives at Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland and later followed his cousin Richard Dobbs to the University of Glasgow . During
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2604-504: The house a little more than a year. Oddly, Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan has also retained its name even though William Tryon had served so very briefly as the last governor of New York province. In May 1775, when the American Revolutionary War began, Governor Josiah Martin fled the mansion. Rebels seized the Palace and retained it as their seat of government. The new state's first general assemblies were held there and many of
2666-486: The house. In 1770 Tryon and his wife, Margaret Wake , moved into the Palace; at the time, "palace" was a standard word for any public building of this type. The house was "a monument of opulence and elegance extraordinary in the American colonies." The cost of the building exacted great controversy in the North Carolina backcountry where most viewed it as an unnecessary, extravagant display of England. Extra taxation to fund
2728-420: The need for a centrally-located Government House while lieutenant governor. After assuming office Governor Tryon worked with architect John Hawks to draw up plans for a government house similar to other British colonial structures of the time. In December 1766, the North Carolina legislature authorized £5,000 for the building of an "Edifice". Tryon told the legislature that the sum was not substantial enough for
2790-399: The occupation and the thousands of freedmen camped near the city. Whereas the 1860 Census had shown a population of 5,432 (of which 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
2852-563: The original Palace plans. Mrs. James Edwin Latham, a New Bern native, asked the state to assist the restoration efforts in 1944 and opened a trust fund committed purely to restoring the Palace. The North Carolina General Assembly organized the Tryon Palace Commission in 1945. This Commission consisted of 25 people appointed by the governor, with the task of rebuilding the Palace using the original plans. The state agreed to be responsible for
2914-430: The plans he and Hawks had created; building it "in the plainest manner" would cost no less than £10,000 without including the outbuildings he envisioned. Hawks agreed to supervise the construction for three years and went to Philadelphia at Tryon's behest to hire workers; Tryon said native North Carolina workers would not know how to construct such a building. Tryon was able to convince the legislature to increase taxes for
2976-458: The population of the area was approximately 29,524 people. From 2000 to 2010, the New Bern city population growth percentage was 27.7% (or from 23,128 people to 29,524 people). 22.8% of the New Bern city residents were under 18 years of age. Census 2010 race data for New Bern city include the racial breakdown percentages of 57.0 white, 32.8% black, 3.6% Asian , 5.8% Hispanic and less than 1% Native American , Also, there were 14,471 housing units in
3038-520: The project had been levied by the governor on the citizens of the province, who had already felt overburdened with taxation. It proved to be too much and served as a major catalyst in North Carolina's War of the Regulation ; which culminated in the Battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771, and later led to the hanging of seven men. The unpopular Tryon left North Carolina on June 30, 1771, to become Governor of New York on July 8 of that year. He had only lived in
3100-526: 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. There was much social disruption because of
3162-422: The remainder of the year, with infrequent snowfall. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 31,291 people, 13,757 households, and 8,070 families residing in the city. Around 2,000 refugees from Myanmar have been resettled in New Bern. The population of the area was 30,291 (95% urban, 5% rural) people in 2014, a 31% increase in growth since 2000. Gender distribution is 47.5% male and 52.5% female with
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#17328485131043224-433: The restoration of the gardens at Mount Vernon and Stratford Hall. His designs are in the colonial revival style that was widely employed in the mid-20th century. With the opening of the North Carolina History Center in 2010, the gardens now include an area filled with a diversity of riparian plants native to the river edges of coastal North Carolina. These survive both in flood and drought, and provide food and shelter for
3286-537: The silver level (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design). The landscape features outdoor exhibits to encourage visitors to explore the natural history of the central coast as well as the story of naturalist and explorer John Lawson, who lived in eastern North Carolina in 1710. Knowledge of the settlers’ 18th-century land use educates visitors about environmental best practices in the 21st century. New Bern, North Carolina New Bern (formerly Newbern )
3348-536: The time. After the 1798 fire, the grounds were divided into lots and sold. In the early 1830s, a house (George W. Dixon House) was built for George W. Dixon, a wealthy merchant tailor and former mayor of New Bern. The Robert Hay House, built at the start of the 19th century, was purchased in 1816 by Robert Hay, a Scottish immigrant and wainwright. The John Wright Stanly House is an outstanding example of Georgian architecture and has served as home to several generations of his family, some of whom were important figures during
3410-468: The town maps and the garden plan discovered in Venezuela suggest that Sauthier created them all. None of the historic garden plans has ever been implemented at the Palace. The current gardens were designed by Morley Williams at the time of the Palace Restoration. Before undertaking the Palace project, Williams had served on the faculties of Harvard and North Carolina State Universities and assisted in
3472-497: The town. [National Hurricane Center Storm Surge Inundation Map, Sept 13, 2018] New Bern is located at the confluence of the Trent and Neuse rivers, two tidal waterways, in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.7 square miles (76.9 km ), of which 28.2 square miles (73.1 km ) is land and 1.4 square miles (3.7 km ), or 4.87%,
3534-696: Was a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the U.S. Constitution, and he signed the document when he was 29 years old. Under the North Carolina Constitution of 1776, Spaight was nominated for governor in 1787 but was defeated by a majority in the General Assembly; he was nominated for the United States Senate in 1789 and was again defeated. In 1788, he was a member of the state convention, which voted not to ratify
3596-629: Was classified as a Superfund property and a major contaminant of the Neuse River basin. Administration of remediation was handled under the North Carolina Superfund, part of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). This is a green-designed project including the construction of wetlands that filter storm-water run-off from a 50-acre area of the New Bern Historic District. The run-off
3658-414: Was elected the first native-born governor of North Carolina and was re-elected by the General Assembly for two further one-year terms. During his term as governor, sites were chosen for the new state capital of Raleigh and the newly chartered University of North Carolina . Spaight was chair of the university's board of trustees during his term as governor. He stepped down as governor in 1795, having served
3720-463: 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
3782-631: Was no printer 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
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#17328485131043844-494: Was the eighth governor of North Carolina from 1792 to 1795. He ran for the North Carolina Senate in 1802, and Federalist U.S. Congressman John Stanly campaigned against him as unworthy. Taking offense, Stanly challenged him to a duel on September 5, 1802, in which Stanly shot and mortally wounded Spaight, who died the following day. Spaight was the father of North Carolina Governor Richard Dobbs Spaight Jr. and
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