Hometown History: New Bern, North Carolina

Rachel Metcalf

July 23, 2015

300 Years of History

Present-day New Bern

  • 30,000 people

Claims to Fame

<section> 
### Pepsi-Cola 
</section>

<section> 
### Nicholas Sparks and *The Notebook* 
</section>

<section>
### First Permanent Colonial Capital of North Carolina 
---> First State Capital
</section>

Colonial Beginnings

  • Founded in 1710 by Swiss settlers
  • Named after Bern, Switzerland
  • Governor Tryon
  • Tryon Palace completed in 1770

"Revolutionary" Changes

  • Royal Governor Martin fled New Bern in 1775
  • NC's first state capital until 1794
  • Visited by George Washington in 1791
  • Tryon Palace burns down in 1798

Reconstruction

  • Only Stable Office remained
  • Highway and houses built over original Palace foundations
  • Reconstruction began in the 1950s
  • Reopened in 1959

Conclusion

  • idk