This Month

Another New Bern First In 1749, the North Carolina Assembly voted to create the office of public printer so that a printing of revised colony laws could be completed. They chose James Davis, who was originally from Williamsburg, and had apprenticed under William Parks, the first printer in Virginia. Davis brought his press and type […]

The afternoon of May 26, 1864 seemed like any other day for the Union soldiers in camp near Bachelor’s Creek. Soldiers and civilians alike began to assemble near the railroad tracks to await the train that would arrive at 4 pm from New Bern. Some were hoping for letters or packages, and some just wanted

During this month in history, one of the biggest celebrations in New Bern occurred at the completion of the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad from Goldsboro to New Bern on April 29, 1858. Fifty-one men were part of the committee to plan and provide the celebration. John D. Whitford, who was president of the railroad,

In March 1938, Our State Magazine published an article entitled, “New Bern Has History Month” written by local historian Gertrude Sprague Carraway. According to Ms. Carraway, this was the second year in a row that New Bern was observing “History Month.” What exactly did that entail? An initial program was given at a public meeting

After the Battle of New Bern on March 14, 1862, the city was occupied by Union Forces.  New Bern became a major military operation center and supply depot for the Union.  In 1864 the Confederates devised a bold plan to launch a surprise attack by land and sea to recapture New Bern.  John Taylor Wood

On January 16, 1777 in the Council Chambers of Tryon Palace, Richard Caswell was sworn in as the first Governor of the state of North Carolina. He served from 1776-1780 and later served as its fifth Governor from 1785-1787. Richard Caswell was born in Maryland, but moved to North Carolina at the age of 16

On December 7, 1939, the North Carolina Society for the Preservation of Antiquities, predecessor to what’s now Preservation North Carolina, met for the first time in the ballroom of the Carolina Hotel in Raleigh. The keynote speaker was Gertrude Carraway of New Bern, who called for the restoration of Tryon Palace.   Read More . . .

On November 26, 1787, Bayard v. Singleton, a landmark North Carolina court case that set a precedent for the exercise of judicial review, was decided in New Bern. That year, Elizabeth Cornell Bayard filed suit to reclaim lands and property of her father, Samuel Cornell, which had been confiscated at the close of the American Revolution because of

On October 30, 1918, James Walker Hood died.  Hood was a missionary in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and was sent in 1863 to North Carolina where he served black congregations in New Bern and Beaufort.  He established a North Carolina Conference of the AME Zion Church in 1864.  He became a church bishop in 1872. In addition to

On September 5, 1802, political rivals John Stanly and Richard Dobbs Spaight, both armed with smooth-bore flintlock pistols, took deliberate aim at each other and fired. It was 5:30 p.m., and the pair were positioned behind the Masonic Lodge in New Bern. Approximately 300 spectators crowded around.   On the fourth discharge, Spaight fell, having been struck