Photographer Ignatius Brock of Asheville On November 8, 1950, internationally-renowned photographer and painter Ignatius Brock died at age 83. Born in Jones County in 1866, Brock got his start in photography as an apprentice at the Gerock Studio in New Bern. He moved to New York to study art at the Cooper Union Institute before returning …
Baron von Graffenreid and the Swiss Colony of New Bern An image of von Graffenreid from Tryon Palace On October 23, 1711, Baron Christoph von Graffenreid, founder of the Swiss colony of New Bern, penned a lengthy description of his capture by the Tuscarora Indians. In mid-September of that year, von Graffenreid and John Lawson led a …
Here is the Fall 2015 Newsletter.
Signers in Philadelphia Endorse Federal Constitution On September 17, 1787, a majority of delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia approved the U.S. Constitution, with North Carolina representatives William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight and Hugh Williamson signing on behalf of the state. Despite advocacy for its adoption by Federalists Spaight and Williamson, the North Carolina Convention …
“Brad’s Drink” Becomes Pepsi-Cola, 1898 On August 28, 1898, “Pepsi-Cola” got its name. Beginning in 1893, New Bern pharmacist Caleb Bradham developed and began serving a carbonated drink he called “Brad’s Drink.” He served the beverage from the soda fountain in his pharmacy at the corner of Pollock and Middle Streets. As a pharmacist who had …
Here is the Summer 2015 Update.
A Little-Known Episode of the War of 1812 On July 16, 1813, a British Royal Navy fleet departed Ocracoke Island, bringing to an end a little known episode of the War of 1812. The fleet appeared off the coast on July 11. Under the command of Admiral George Cockburn, the expedition landed at Ocracoke and Portsmouth …
On June 30, 1863, the 35th United States Colored Troops regiment officially mustered in New Bern. The organizing and recruitment of North Carolina’s African-American troops had already been underway for nine months. In July 1862, Congress issued a Second Confiscation and Militia Act. The act allowed President Abraham Lincoln to use as many African-Americans as …
On May 24, 1775, Josiah Martin, the last royal governor of North Carolina, fled Tryon Palace under cover of darkness. In 1774, delegates to North Carolina’s First Provincial Congress recommended that counties form committees of safety, a move to supplant royal authority. Fearing that the cannons on the palace grounds might be used in an …