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 […]
This Month in New Bern History – May 2025 Read More »
100th Anniversary Edition, JOURNAL Vol. XXXI 2024
2024 NBHS Journal, Vol. XXXI Read More »
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
This Month in New Bern History – December 2024 Read More »
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
This Month in New Bern History – May 2024 Read More »
From New Bern to Lincoln’s Assassination – A Curious Connection by Claudia Houston, Historian, New Bern Historical Society “You can’t make this up” describes our article this month. This story was inspired by an email we received from a computer history researcher in Bulgaria. His email concerned Dr. Joseph Bell Alexander, an inventor of note
This Month in New Bern History – April 2024 Read More »
2023 JOURNAL 100th Anniversary Edition, Vol. XXX, No. 1
2023 JOURNAL 100th Anniversary Edition, Vol. XXX, No. 1 Read More »
Black Soldiers in the Cause of Freedom by Claudia Houston, Historian, New Bern Historical Society Soldiers at the siege of Yorktown, including 1st Rhode Island Regiment soldier (left), 1781 Illustration by Jean-Baptiste-Antoine DeVerger On March 5, 1770, British troops fired into a crowd of American colonists in Boston, Massachusetts. Five men were killed, including Crispus
This Month in New Bern History – March 2024 Read More »
Giving Diligence its Due by Claudia Houston, Historian, New Bern Historical Society Did you know that Founding Father Alexander Hamilton features in one of Gertrude Carraway’s list of impressive New Bern Firsts?* This connection dates back to Treasury Secretary Hamilton’s 1790 establishment of a revenue cutter service, the precursor to the United States Coast Guard.
This Month in New Bern History – February 2024 Read More »
What’s in a Name? by Claudia Houston, Historian, New Bern Historical Society 1862 Plan of the Battle of Newberne “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” ― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Among the questions we are asked the most are “Why is New
This Month in New Bern History – January 2024 Read More »
