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The Night New Bern “Switched-On” Christmas! NBHS Historian/Claudia Houston Have you ever wondered how we celebrated the holidays in the past compared to how we do so now?  How did some of these traditions start in New Bern?  Every year, a public tree is put up downtown, and a celebratory tree lighting takes place to […]

A Pulitzer, a Love Story, and New Bern’s Link to the Wall Street Journal NBHS Historian/Claudia Houston New Bern has a knack for attracting fascinating people. Some are born here, some pass through, and others find themselves drawn back later in life. Two of those people lead us straight from East Front Street to the

The Forgotten Keepers of the Light   NBHS Historian/Claudia Houston The lighthouses of North Carolina helped guide ships through treacherous waters, and lighthouse keepers tended their lights with quiet dedication. Among these unsung guardians were two sisters from New Bern—Martha Annie and Susan Dena McCotter. Their remarkable yet forgotten contributions helped keep sailors safe along the

A Day of Infamy   NBHS Historian/Claudia Houston On December 7, 1941, two young men from Craven County died after a surprise attack by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, propelling the United States into WWII.  President Franklin Roosevelt, in an address to Congress and the nation, announced, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941-a date which will live

Concrete Ships Ahoy! by Claudia Houston, Historian, New Bern Historical Society Photo of the concrete boats from the John B. Green Collection #380.2.b in the Manuscripts and Rare Books Department at ECU, J.Y. Joyner Library, Greenville, NC 27858. These four ships are the four 150’ concrete riverboats built at Wilmington. Did you know that the