New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Craven County Craven County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 100,720. Its county seat is New Bern. The county was created in 1705 as Archdale Precinct from the now-extinct Bath County. It was rename ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Craven County and the principal city of the New Bern Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse and the Trent rivers, near the North Carolina coast. It lies east of Raleigh, north of Wilmington, and south of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. New Bern is the birthplace of

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

. New Bern was founded in October 1710 by the

Palatines Palatines (german: Pfälzer), also known as the Palatine Dutch, are the people and princes of Palatinates ( Holy Roman principalities) of the Holy Roman Empire. The Palatine diaspora includes the Pennsylvania Dutch and New York Dutch. In 1709 ...

and Swiss under the leadership of Christoph von Graffenried. The new colonists named their settlement after Bern, the Swiss region from which many of the colonists and their

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

had emigrated. The flag and arms of the American city are virtually identical to those of the Swiss canton. The English connection with Switzerland had been established by some

Marian exiles The Marian exiles were English Protestants who fled to Continental Europe during the 1553–1558 reign of the Catholic monarchs Queen Mary I and King Philip.Christina Hallowell Garrett (1938) ''Marian Exiles: A Study in the Origins of Elizabetha ...

who sought refuge in

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

parts of Switzerland. There were also marriages between the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

and notable people in the history of

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

. The colonists later discovered they had started their settlement on the site of a former Tuscarora village named Chattoka. This caused conflicts with the Tuscaroras who were in the area. New Bern is the second-oldest European settled colonial town in North Carolina, after Bath. It served as the capital of North Carolina from 1770 to 1792. After the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

(1775–1783), New Bern became wealthy and quickly developed a rich cultural life. At one time New Bern was called "the Athens of the South," renowned for its Masonic Temple and Athens Theater. These are both still very active today. New Bern has four historic districts listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

; their numerous contributing buildings include residences, stores and churches dating back to the early eighteenth century. Within walking distance of the waterfront are more than 164 homes and buildings listed on the National Register. Also nearby are several bed and breakfasts, hotels, restaurants, banks, antiques stores and specialty shops. The historic districts contain many of the city's 2,000 crape myrtles—its official flower—and developed gardens. New Bern has two "Local Historic Districts", a municipal zoning overlay that affords legal protection to the exteriors of New Bern's historic structures.

History

New Bern was settled in October 1710 by the Palatines and Swiss under the leadership of Christoph von Graffenried. The new colonists named their settlement after the Canton of Bern, home state of their patron. Bernberg had the original plat of the town laid out in the shape of a cross, though later development and additional streets have obscured this pattern within the regular street grid. The British governor’s palace (present-day

Tryon Palace Tryon Palace, formerly called Governor's Palace, Newbern, was the official residence and administrative headquarters of the British governors of North Carolina from 1770 to 1775. Located in New Bern, North Carolina, the palace was often at the ...

) served as the capitol of North Carolina from 1770 until the state government relocated to Raleigh in 1792, after a fire had destroyed much of the capitol. This became the first permanent

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

of North Carolina. There was no printer in North Carolina until 1749, when the North Carolina Assembly commissioned James Davis from Williamsburg, Virginia to act as their official printer. Before this time the laws and legal journals of North Carolina were handwritten and were largely kept in a disorganized manner, prompting them to hire Davis. Davis settled in New Bern and was appointed by

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

as North Carolina's first postmaster, who also became active in North Carolina's politics, as a member of the Assembly and later as the Sheriff. Davis also founded and printed the '' North-Carolina Gazette'', North Carolina's first newspaper, printed in his printing house in New Bern. Powell, 2000, pp. 34-35 During the 19th-century Federal period, New Bern became the largest city in North Carolina, developed on the trade of goods and slaves associated with plantation agriculture. After Raleigh was named the state capital, New Bern rebuilt its economy by expanding on trade via shipping routes to the Caribbean and

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

. It was part of the

Triangle Trade Triangular trade or triangle trade is trade between three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come. It has been used to offset t ...

in sugar, slaves, and desired goods. It reached a population of 3,600 in 1815. In 1862 during the early stages of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, the area was the site of the Battle of New Bern. Federal forces captured and occupied the town until the end of the war in 1865. Nearly 10,000 enslaved blacks escaped during this period in the region and went to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

(

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

) camps for protection and freedom. The Union Army set up the Trent River contraband camp at New Bern to house the refugees. It organized the adults for work. Missionaries came to teach literacy to both adults and children. Gunboat advance, Battle of New Berne

After the January 1863 Emancipation Proclamation of U.S. President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

, slaves within the

Confederate States The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

were declared free, but not those in the United States. His order carefully limited the Proclamation to those areas in insurrection, where civil government was not respected and his military authority, therefore, applied. Because of this proclamation, more

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...

came to the Trent River camp for protection. The Union Army appointed Horace James, a

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

chaplain from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, as the "Superintendent of Negro Affairs for the North Carolina District""The Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony"
, provided by National Park Service, at North Carolina Digital History: LEARN NC, accessed November 11, 2010 on behalf of the

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...

. In addition to the Trent River camp, James supervised development of the offshore Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony, which was intended to be self-supporting.Click, Patricia C. "The Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony"
, Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony website, 2001, accessed November 9, 2010 Beginning in 1863, a total of nearly 4,000 freedmen from North Carolina enlisted in the U.S. Colored Troops to fight with the Union Army for their permanent freedom, including 150 men from the colony on Roanoke Island. Due to the continuous occupation by the Union Army, New Bern avoided some of the destruction of the war years. There was much social disruption because of the occupation and the thousands of freedmen camped near the city. Still, it recovered more quickly than many cities after the war. By the 1870s the lumber industry was developing as the chief part of New Bern's economy. Timber harvested could be sent downriver by the two nearby rivers. The city continued to be a center for freedmen, who created communities independent of white supervision: thriving churches, fraternal associations, and their own businesses. By 1877 the city had a majority-black population. The state legislature defined the city and county as part of

North Carolina's 2nd congressional district North Carolina's 2nd congressional district is located in the central part of the state. The district contains most of Wake County. Prior to court-mandated redistricting in 2019, it also included northern Johnston County, southern Nash County, ...

which, as former plantation territory, held a concentration of the state's black residents. They elected four blacks to the US Congress in the late 19th century. The state's passage of a constitutional suffrage amendment in 1900 used various devices to disenfranchise black citizens. As a result, they were totally closed out of the political process, including participation on juries and in local offices; white Democrats maintained this suppression mostly, until after passage of federal civil rights legislation, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which provided for federal enforcement of constitutional rights. By 1890 New Bern had become the largest lumber center in North Carolina and one of the largest in all of the South. During this time, as many as 16 lumber mills were running and employing hundreds of men from New Bern and the area. The competitive nature of the lumber barons, the abundance of lumber and craftsmen, led to the construction in New Bern of some of the finest homes in the South, many of which have survived. The lumber boom lasted until the 1920s. One by one the lumber mills went out of business. Today only

Weyerhaeuser Weyerhaeuser () is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company also manufactures wood products. It operates as a real e ...

manufactures lumber in the area. The city has four National Historic Districts and two local ones, which have helped preserve the character of the architecture. The Downtown Local Historic District is or ; the Riverside Local Historic District covers or . Union Point Park borders the Neuse and Trent rivers.

Hurricanes

New Bern's location near the Atlantic coast renders it subject to the effects of Atlantic hurricane seasons. For example, in the 18th century the town suffered severe damage in the Great Chesapeake Bay Hurricane of 1769.Hand, Bill (31 July 2016)
Awash in a hurricane’s wrath in 1769
'' New Bern Sun Journal'' Other hurricanes such as Hurricane Ione in 1955 and

Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful Cape Verde hurricane which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd tr ...

in 1999 (just as examples) have also caused significant flooding and damage.Hand, Bill (17 September 2017)
Hurricane Ione was a storm to remember
'' New Bern Sun Journal'' In September 2018,

Hurricane Florence Hurricane Florence was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde hurricane that caused catastrophic damage in the Carolinas in September 2018, primarily as a result of freshwater flooding due to torrential rain. The sixth named storm, third h ...

made landfall in the United States just south of Wrightsville Beach, 88.4 miles southwest of New Bern. A storm surge up to 13.5 feet in addition to days of heavy rains severely flooded various parts of the town. ational Hurricane Center Storm Surge Inundation Map, Sept 13, 2018

Geography

New Bern is located at the confluence of the Trent and Neuse rivers, two tidal waterways, in North Carolina's

Inner Banks The Inner Banks is a neologism made up by developers and tourism promoters to describe the inland coastal region of eastern North Carolina. Without historical precedent, the term "Inner Banks" is an early 21st-century construct that is part of a ...

region. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.87%, is water. U.S. routes 17 and 70 pass through the city, merging briefly as a four-lane expressway passing south of the city center. US 70 leads west to Kinston and southeast to

Morehead City Morehead City is a port town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast. Hist ...

near the Atlantic Ocean. Raleigh, the state capital, is west via US 70. US 17 leads southwest to

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, and crosses the Neuse River on a new bridge to lead north to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Climate

New Bern experiences a humid subtropical climate typical of the Atlantic coastal plain. Summers are hot and humid, with frequent afternoon

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

s that account for much of the higher summer precipitation. Spring and fall are generally mild, with

fall foliage Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normal green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown. The phenomenon i ...

occurring from late October to early November. Winters are relatively mild and drier than the remainder of the year, with infrequent snowfall.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 31,291 people, 13,757 households, and 8,070 families residing in the city.

2012

The population of the area was 30,291 (95% urban, 5% rural) people in 2014, a 31% increase in growth since 2000. Gender distribution is 47.5% male and 52.5% female with a median resident age of 38.8. The percentage of residents under the age of 18 was 24.2%. The 2012 racial breakdown includes White alone – 16,304 (54%), Black alone – 9,634 (31.9%), Asian alone – 1,844 (6.1%),

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

– 1,626 (5.4%), Two or more races – 747 (2.5%), American Indian alone – 50 (0.2%) and Other race alone – 13 (0.04%). The median income for a household in the city in 2015 was $41,285. The City of New Bern 2010 Census information shows the population of the area was approximately 29,524 people. From 2000 to 2010, the New Bern city population growth percentage was 27.7% (or from 23,128 people to 29,524 people). 22.8% of the New Bern city residents were under 18 years of age. Census 2010 race data for New Bern city include the racial breakdown percentages of 57.0 white, 32.8% black, 3.6%

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

n, 5.8%

and less than 1% Native American, Also, there were 14,471 housing units in the City of New Bern, 88.2% of which were occupied housing units.

Arts and culture

New Bern has several sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Education

Colleges

* Craven Community College * University of Mount Olive at New Bern

High schools

* New Bern High School * Craven Early College High School

Middle schools

* Grover C. Fields Middle School * H.J. McDonald Middle School * West Craven Middle School

Elementary schools

* Trent Park Elementary School * Oaks Road Elementary School * J.T. Barber Elementary School * Brinson Memorial Elementary School * Ben D. Quinn Elementary School * Albert H. Bangert Elementary School * Creekside Elementary School * Bridgeton Elementary School

Private schools

* Calvary Baptist Christian School * St. Paul Catholic School (St. Paul Education Center) *

The Epiphany School of Global Studies Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and philanthropist. He has published twenty-three novels and two non-fiction books, some of which have been ''New York Times'' bestsellers, with over 115 m ...

* New Bern Christian Academy

Media

Radio stations

* 1450 AM / 104.3 FM WNOS – News/Talk/Sports * 1490 AM / 103.9 FM WWNB - ESPN Radio – sports talk * 88.5 FM WZNB - Public Radio East – Classical Music * 89.3 FM WTEB - Public Radio East – NPR/News/Talk * 89.9 FM W210BS - Classical WCPE * 92.7 FM WBNK - K-Love - Christian Contemporary * 91.9 FM WAAE - American Family Radio – Religious * 93.3 FM

WERO Wero (meaning "to cast a spear"), also known as taki, is a traditional Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori p ...

- Bob 93.3 - Top 40 * 94.1 FM WNBU - Talk * 95.1 FM WRNS - Country * 95.7 FM W239BC - R&B Oldies * 97.5 FM

WLGT WLGT (97.5 FM, ''97.5 & 104.5 The Bridge'') is an American radio station licensed to Washington, North Carolina, United States. It serves the Greenville-New Bern area. The station is currently owned by Media East LLC. History In 1989, Henry Hint ...

- The Bridge – Contemporary Christian * 97.9 FM

WNBB WNBB (97.9 FM) is a radio station airing a classic country music format. Licensed to Bayboro, North Carolina Bayboro is a town in Pamlico County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,263 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat ...

– Classic Country * 99.5 FM WMJV – 99.5/97.5 The Wave – Hot Adult Contemporary * 99.9 FM WTTY-LP - Oldies * 101.9 FM

WIKS WIKS (101.9 FM) is an urban contemporary-formatted broadcast radio station licensed to New Bern, North Carolina. The station is owned by Curtis Media Group. WIKS is an affiliate of the Steve Harvey Morning Show. History The 101.9 FM frequency in ...

- Kiss FM – Hip Hop & R&B * 103.3 FM WMGV - V103.3 - Soft AC * 104.5 FM WSTK - Variety * 105.1 FM

WHAR WHAR (105.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Christian Worship format branded as Air 1. WHAR is licensed to Havelock, North Carolina. The station was sold in 2010 by NM Licensing LLC. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation ...

- Air 1 - Christian Contemporary * 105.5 FM

WXQR WXQR-FM (105.5 MHz) is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Originally based in Jacksonville, North Carolina, the station is headquartered in New Bern. History WXQR-FM is one of the oldest rock stations in America. It was ...

– Pure Rock * 107.9 FM WNCT – Classic Hits * 106.5 FM WSFL – Classic Rock * 107.1 FM

WTKF WTKF (107.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. Licensed to Atlantic, North Carolina Atlantic is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in eastern Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. As of th ...

-FM – The Talk Station

Infrastructure

Transportation

Coastal Carolina Regional Airport is a public airport located south of the central business district of New Bern. The airport offers connecting flights to the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

airports daily. The New Bern Transport Corporation, a business entity owned by PepsiCo to manage its fleet of delivery trucks and other motor vehicles, is located in

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

, but was named after the town where Pepsi-Cola was first developed. The north-south U.S. Route 17 and the east-west U.S. Route 70 pass through New Bern. As late as 1950, the

Atlantic and East Carolina Railway Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad Company was incorporated under act of the North Carolina Legislature, ratified December 27, 1852, and was organized on January 20, 1854.Interstate Commerce Commission. Valuation Docket No. 31, ''Norfolk Souther ...

offered passenger train service through New Bern to

to the east, by the Atlantic coast and to

Goldsboro Union Station The Goldsboro Union Station is a former passenger train, passenger train station, train depot and future Intermodal passenger transport, intermodal transit station in Goldsboro, North Carolina, United States. Originally operating from 1909 to 1968 ...

, where timed connections could be made with the Southern Railway's trains to central and western North Carolina. Service was terminated by the end of 1951.

Notable people

* Charles Laban Abernethy (1872–1955), US Congressman from North Carolina between 1922 and 1935 * Lewis Addison Armistead (1817–1863),

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

general * Shawn Armstrong (born 1990),

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher * George Edmund Badger (1795–1866), US Senator from 1846 to 1855 *

Bessie Banks Bessie Banks (born February 8, 1938) is an American soul singer, best known for her original 1964 recording of " Go Now," successfully covered in the same year by UK band the Moody Blues. Life and career She was born Bessie White in New Bern, ...

(born 1938) Singer, Original singer of the song " Go Now" * Graham Arthur Barden (1896–1967), 13-term US congressman from 1935 to 1961 *

Cullen A. Battle Cullen Andrews Battle (June 1, 1829 – April 8, 1905) was an American attorney, farmer, and politician. He was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He fought Congressional Reconstruction after the war in Al ...

(1829–1905), postbellum mayor of New Bern * Samuel J. Battle (1883–1966), first African-American policeman in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Walt Bellamy Walter Jones Bellamy (July 24, 1939 – November 2, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. A four-time NBA All-Star, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. College career Bellamy chose to play basket ...

(1939–2013), NBA Hall of Fame basketball player *

Sarah Boone Sarah Boone ( née Sarah Marshall; 1832 – 1904) was an African-American inventor. On April 26, 1892, she obtained United States patent number 473,563 for her improvements to the ironing board. Boone's ironing board was designed to improve ...

(1832-1904), Inventor * Baron of Bernberg (1661–1743), British peer from the Canton of Bern, who founded New Bern in 1710 * Caleb Bradham (1867–1934), pharmacist, best known as inventor of

* John Heritage Bryan (1798–1870), US congressman from 1825 to 1829 * Chase Crawford (born 1996), actor and producer * James Davis (1721–1785) First postmaster and first printer of North Carolina. Founder of the '' North-Carolina Gazette'', North Carolina's first newspaper. * Gary Downs (born 1972), NFL player for the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons,

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

; current college football coach * Davon Drew (born 1985), NFL tight end * Elwood Edwards (born 1949), voice of AOL's "You've got mail" * William Gaston (1778–1834), jurist and US congressman from 1813 to 1817 * Montario Hardesty (born 1987), NFL running back for

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

* Nathan Healy (born 1990), professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player * William J. Hutchins (1813–1884), mercantilist, railroad owner, and Mayor of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

from 1861 to 1862 * Donna Hutchinson (born 1949), former member of Arkansas House of Representatives, born in New Bern * Jumpin Jackie Jackson 1940-2019, Harlem Globetrotter basketball player *

George Koonce George Koonce (born October 15, 1968) is an American athlete and athletic director. A former linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as the athletic director at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee between 2009 and 2010. Pl ...

(born 1968), NFL player for Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks; Athletic Director of

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscon ...

Valentina Lisitsa Valentina Lisitsa, ; russian: Валентина Евгеньевна Лисица, translit=Valentina Evgen'evna Lisica, ) (born 25 March 1970) is a Ukrainian-American pianist. Lisitsa independently launched her career on social media, without ...

(born 1973), concert pianist * Peter Loftin (1958–2019), entrepreneur * Bob Mann (1924–2006), NFL player; first African American to play for Detroit Lions and later Green Bay Packers * Aaron Martin (born 1941), former NFL player for Los Angeles Rams,

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

, and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

* Eliza Jane McKissack (1828–1900), director and founding member of Conservatory of Music at

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...

Linda McMahon Linda Marie McMahon (née Edwards; October 4, 1948) is an American political executive, retired professional wrestler, executive, and performer. She served as the 25th administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019. McMahon ...

(born 1948), 25th administrator of the

Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stre ...

and former CEO of

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

* Michael R. Morgan (born 1955), African American justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina * Dan Neil (born 1960), Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive journalist * Bob Perry (1934–2017), MLB outfielder * James E.C. Perry (born 1944), justice of Supreme Court of Florida * Teddy Shapou (1919–1985), Flying Tiger during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

* Brian Simmons (born 1975), NFL player for Cincinnati Bengals and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

* William Henry Singleton (1843–1938), former slave who became noted

soldier * Furnifold Simmons (1854–1940), former U.S. senator *

Richard Dobbs Spaight Richard Dobbs Spaight (March 25, 1758September 6, 1802) was an American Founding Father, politician, planter, and signer of the United States Constitution, who served as a Democratic-Republican U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 10th c ...

(1758–1802), 8th Governor of North Carolina from 1792 to 1795, and Congressman for the 10th District from 1798 to 1801 * Edward Stanly (1810–1872), son of John Stanly, congressman 1837–1843, appointed

military governor A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

in 1862 * Fabius Maximus Stanly (1815–1882), rear admiral of U.S. Navy, namesake of WWII destroyer USS ''Stanly'' (DD-478) * John Stanly (1774–1834), father of Edward Stanly, congressman (1801–1803 and 1809–1811) * Sean Strickland (born 1991), MMA fighter, currently competing in the middleweight division of the UFC as of August 2021 * Adam Warren (born 1987), MLB pitcher * George Henry White (1852–1918), attorney, banker, last of four African-American congressmen from North Carolina in the 19th century; next was not elected until 1992 * Kevin Meade Williamson (born 1966), screenwriter, involved with ''

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

'', '' I Know What You Did Last Summer'', and television series ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

'' *

Bayard Wootten Mary Bayard Morgan Wootten (1875–1959) was an American photographer. She named Pepsi Cola and created its logo for her neighbor Caleb Bradham, who invented the drink. Biography Wootten was born in New Bern, North Carolina in 1875 to Mary and ...

(1875–1959), photographer and suffragette

In popular culture

* Jules Verne's 1896 novel ''Face au Drapeau'' (''Facing the Flag'') featured New Bern as the place where one of that story's main characters is committed to an asylum by the U.S. government.''Backwards to Britain'', edited by William Butcher (Chambers, 1992) *

Nicholas Sparks Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and philanthropist. He has published twenty-three novels and two non-fiction books, some of which have been ''New York Times'' bestsellers, with over 115 m ...

set three of his novels (''

The Notebook ''The Notebook'' is a 2004 American romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes, with a screenplay by Jeremy Leven and Jan Sardi, based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams ...

'', ''

A Bend in the Road ''A Bend in the Road'' is the fifth novel by the American author Nicholas Sparks (author), Nicholas Sparks, who also wrote the romance love novels ''A Walk to Remember (novel), A Walk to Remember'', ''The Notebook (novel), The Notebook'', and ''Th ...

'', and '' The Return'') in the city.

References

External links

* *
New Bern Convention and Visitors Bureau
* {{Authority control Capitals of North Carolina Cities in Craven County, North Carolina Cities in North Carolina County seats in North Carolina Former colonial capitals in North Carolina Former state capitals in the United States German Palatine settlement in the United States New Bern micropolitan area Planned cities in the United States Populated places established in 1710 Populated places in colonial North Carolina Populated places on the Neuse River Populated places on the Trent River (North Carolina) Swiss-American history