| New Bern, North Carolina | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — City — | |||
| New Bern City Hall | |||
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| Location of New Bern, North Carolina | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | North Carolina | ||
| County | Craven | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Lee Bettis | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 27.0 sq mi (69.9 km2) | ||
| • Land | 25.8 sq mi (66.9 km2) | ||
| • Water | 1.2 sq mi (3.0 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 30 ft (3 m) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 29,524 | ||
| • Density | 895.5/sq mi (345.7/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP codes | 28560-28564 | ||
| Area code(s) | 252 | ||
| FIPS code | 37-46340[1] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 1013911[2] | ||
| Website | http://www.newbern-nc.org/ | ||
New Bern (pronounced /ˈnjuːbərn/) is a city in Craven County, North Carolina with a population of 29,524 as of the 2010 census. .[3] It is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers. The city is 112 miles (180 km) east of Raleigh and 87 miles (140 km) northeast of Wilmington.
Formerly an Indian town named Chattoka, New Bern was settled in 1710 as a Swiss immigrant settlement, the city is named after Bern, Switzerland, which is its capital. Bern is bear in the German language and it has a similar flag as the Swiss. The Swiss connection (just as the Dutch in New Amsterdam, and German immigrants in Pennsylvania Dutch) with England was established by Marian exiles and marriages of the Royal House of Stuart, notable people in the history of Calvinism.
New Bern is the second oldest town in North Carolina. It served as the capital of the North Carolina colonial government and then briefly as the state capital. After the American Revolution, New Bern became wealthy and quickly developed a rich cultural life. In fact, at one time New Bern was called "the Athens of the South."
Renowned in the South were the Masonic Temple and the Athens Theater, both still very active today. New Bern is the county seat of Craven County and the principal city of the New Bern Micropolitan Statistical Area.
New Bern is the birthplace of the international drink, Pepsi Cola. It is also the setting of the Nicholas Sparks' book, The Notebook. A segment on NBC's The Today Show which aired March 16, 2005, mentioned that New Bern was one of the best places in the United States to retire which has been a haven for retirees from the northern states.
New Bern has four historic districts with homes, stores and churches dating back to the early eighteenth century. Within easy walking distance of the waterfront are more than 164 homes and buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also nearby are several bed and breakfast inns, hotels, restaurants, banks, antiques stores and specialty shops. The historic districts also are home to many of the town's 2,000 crape myrtles — New Bern’s official flower — and glorious gardens.
At Union Point park, located downtown borders both the Neuse and Trent Rivers, the city’s major celebration spot for events such as Neuse River Days and the Fourth of July. In 1979 local government gave Swiss Bear Downtown Revitalization Corp — a nonprofit corporation of civic leaders — the authority and responsibility to capitalize on the potential of the failing downtown area. Today, art galleries, specialty shops, antiques stores, restaurants and inns have resurrected downtown and the waterfront into a social hub. Improvements are continuously underway. Built and dedicated in 1995 through the efforts of Swiss Bear, James Reed Lane is a downtown mini-park and pedestrian walk-through on Pollock Street across from historic Christ Church. Private restoration efforts return many of the downtown buildings to their turn-of-the-last-century elegance.
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Varying complex cultures of indigenous peoples had lived along the waterways of North Carolina for thousands of years before Europeans explored the area. New Bern was first settled by Europeans in 1710 by Swiss and German immigrants[4] under the leadership of Christoph de Graffenried, Franz Louis Michel[5][6] and John Lawson. It was named after the (later) capital of Switzerland, Bern. The first permanent seat of the colonial government of North Carolina was located in New Bern. Following the American Revolutionary War, New Bern became the first state capital. Christoph von Graffenried ordered that the layout of the town was made into the shape of a cross, although the town is not in the shape today due to growth of the town and towns surrounding it.
Tryon Palace was completed in 1770 and was the former home of British governor William Tryon. It was used as the original state capitol building of newly independent North Carolina. It burned down in the 1790s. A replica, built from the original plans and on the original foundation, is now maintained as a historic site and tourist attraction. During the 19th-century Federal period, New Bern was the largest city in North Carolina.[7] After Raleigh was named as the state capital, New Bern rebuilt its economy with the help of trade routes to the Caribbean and New England.[7] It reached a population of 3,600 in 1815.[7]
In 1862 during the early stages of the American Civil War, New Bern was the site of the Battle of New Bern. The town was captured and occupied by Union until the end of the war in 1865. Numerous slaves escaped and went to the Union camps for protection, as the Union Army set up the Trent River contraband camp to house the refugees. The Union soldiers created the Trent River contraband camp to house the many former slaves who migrated to the Union lines for protection and freedom.
Beginning in 1863, a total of nearly 4,000 freedmen from North Carolina enlisted in the United States Colored Troops to fight with the Union for their permanent freedom, including 150 men from the Freedmen's Colony.[8]They worked for pay for the Union and later many of the men were among the nearly 4,000 from North Carolina who enlisted in the United States Colored Troops.e After the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln, slaves in Union-occupied territories were declared free; more freedmen came to the Trent River camp for protection. The Army appointed Horace James, a Congregational chaplain from Massachusetts, as the "Superintendent of Negro Affairs for the North Carolina District."[8]
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.[9]
Although many southern towns suffered both physically and economically during the Civil War, New Bern due to the continuous occupation by the Union troops to keep order in place enabled the town to recover after the war had ended much quicker than many other towns. By the 1870's the lumber industry was quickly becoming New Bern's major economic source. By 1890 the large area of forest land, combined with the two rivers, had being used for transportation of the logs. This enabled New Bern to 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 New Bernian's. The competitive nature of the lumber barons, the abundance of lumber and craftsmen, led to the creation of some of the finest homes in the south, many of which are still in existence. The lumber boom was to last until the 1920's. One by one the lumber mills went out of business and today only Weyerhaeuser manufactures lumber in the area.
New Bern has several historical first: In 1720 the first road and ferry in North Carolina (from New Bern to Bath. In 1749 the first printing press (and therefore the first newspaper, book and pamphlet printed) in North Carolina. In 1766 the first incorporated school in North Carolina. In 1770 the first permanent Colonial Capitol Building completed. In 1777 the first permanent State Capitol Building and site of first inauguration of State Officials. Also in 1777 was the first meeting of the North Carolina state legislature. In 1778 the first public banking institution in North Carolina. In 1778 first in North Carolina to celebrate Independence Day. In 1783 first bookstore in North Carolina. In 1790 first postal service in North Carolina. In 1793 first death sentence by a Federal Court in the United States and first public hanging. In 1796 first in America to celebrate George Washington's birthday. In 1805 first theater in America still in regular operation In 1810 first large-faced clock on a building in North Carolina. In 1817 first Presbyterian Church organization and building in Presbytery. In 1818 first steamboat owned in North Carolina. In 1821 first Roman Catholic Church and parish in North Carolina. In 1845 first chartered fire department in North Carolina still in existence. In 1862 first torpedo (land mine) put to practical use invented here. In 1863 first congregation in the South to join the national AME Zion Church (St. Peter's. In 1868 first public school for African-Americans in North Carolina. In 1898 first to develop, bottle and market Pepsi-Cola. In 1901 first town of its size to have its own electric plant. In 1903 first registered nurse in America (Josephine Burton, June 3, 1903. In 1911 first motion picture theatre in North Carolina built from the ground up. In 1912 first consolidated school in North Carolina with a bus transportation system. In 1942 first modern naval minesweeper made in North Carolina launched here. In 1972 first fully computerized radio broadcasting station in North Carolina. In 1996 first novel in America to be on both the hardcover and paperback best seller lists for over a year.
New Bern is located at (35.109070, -77.069111)[10].
New Bern is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.0 square miles (69.9 km²), of which, 25.8 square miles (66.9 km²) of it is land and 1.2 square miles (3.0 km²) of it (4.30%) is water.
New Bern experiences a humid subtropical climate typical of the Atlantic coastal plain. Summers are hot and humid, with frequent afternoon thunderstorms and higher amounts of rainfall. Spring and fall are generally mild, with fall foliage occurring from late October to early November. Winters are chilly to cold, with lower average precipitation and occasional snowfall.
| Climate data for New Bern, NC | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 81 (27) |
88 (31) |
90 (32) |
95 (35) |
100 (38) |
105 (41) |
106 (41) |
103 (39) |
101 (38) |
97 (36) |
87 (31) |
83 (28) |
106 (41) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 54 (12) |
57 (14) |
64 (18) |
72 (22) |
79 (26) |
85 (29) |
88 (31) |
87 (31) |
83 (28) |
74 (23) |
66 (19) |
58 (14) |
72.25 (22.36) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 34 (1) |
36 (2) |
42 (6) |
50 (10) |
59 (15) |
67 (19) |
71 (22) |
70 (21) |
65 (18) |
53 (12) |
44 (7) |
36 (2) |
52.25 (11.25) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 1 (−17) |
6 (−14) |
17 (−8) |
29 (−2) |
32 (0) |
44 (7) |
55 (13) |
50 (10) |
43 (6) |
26 (−3) |
17 (−8) |
−4 (−20) |
−4 (−20) |
| Rainfall inches (mm) | 4.77 (121.2) |
3.8 (97) |
4.49 (114) |
3.4 (86) |
4.19 (106.4) |
4.8 (122) |
6.48 (164.6) |
6.84 (173.7) |
5.45 (138.4) |
3.39 (86.1) |
3.23 (82) |
3.84 (97.5) |
54.68 (1,388.9) |
| Snowfall inches (cm) | 1.0 (2.5) |
0.8 (2) |
0.5 (1.3) |
0.1 (0.3) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.1 (0.3) |
0.2 (0.5) |
2.7 (6.9) |
| Source: Weatherbase and National Weather Service[11][12] | |||||||||||||
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1800 | 2,467 | — |
| 1820 | 3,663 | +48.5% |
| 1830 | 3,796 | +3.6% |
| 1840 | 3,690 | −2.8% |
| 1850 | 4,681 | +26.9% |
| 1860 | 5,432 | +16.0% |
| 1870 | 5,849 | +7.7% |
| 1880 | 6,443 | +10.2% |
| 1890 | 7,843 | +21.7% |
| 1900 | 9,090 | +15.9% |
| 1910 | 9,961 | +9.6% |
| 1920 | 12,198 | +22.5% |
| 1930 | 11,981 | −1.8% |
| 1940 | 11,815 | −1.4% |
| 1950 | 15,812 | +33.8% |
| 1960 | 15,717 | −0.6% |
| 1970 | 14,660 | −6.7% |
| 1980 | 14,557 | −0.7% |
| 1990 | 17,363 | +19.3% |
| 2000 | 23,128 | +33.2% |
| Source: "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. | ||
According to New Bern city Census 2010 results, 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% Asian and 5.8% Hispanic and less than 1% Native American, Also, there were 14,471 housing units in New Bern city, 88.2% of which were occupied housing units.
From the 2000 census there were 10,006 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 18.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.85.
In the year 2000, the city the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 83.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city in 2000 was $29,139, and the median income for a family was $38,990. Males had a median income of $28,720 versus $21,687 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,499. About 14.7% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.4% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.
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