A popular destination for cruisers, North Carolina's second-oldest city stands at the confluence of the broad Neuse River and the winding, unspoiled Trent River.
"The Neuse and Trent rivers are like a little Chesapeake Bay, with year-round sailing, and lots of creeks and anchorages to explore," says Sheraton Grand Hotel and Marina dockmaster Bob McNulty, who lives with his wife, Joan, on a 34-foot sailboat at the marina. "Our docks are in the downtown historic district, so you can walk to everything.
New Bern is about 24 nautical miles from the ICW, but it's worth going the distance to visit.
"New Bern's very accessible to the Intrercoastal Waterway, near the travel routes of our customers, and an excellent boating locale," says David Ritchie, communications director for Hatteras Yachts. The New Bern-based company builds its 50- to 100-foot luxury convertibles and motoryachts five miles up the Neuse River from downtown.
New Hatteras owners come to this city of 24,000 to take delivery of their yachts, and some stay to participate in the builder's orientation for novice boat owners at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Marina. Other Hatteras owners traveling the ICW often stop in spring and fall for minor adjustments and repairs.
"There's always at least two Hatteras yachts at the Sheraton dock," says McNulty.
Some cruisers come for the waterfront festivals — the Mum Festival in October, Christmas Boat Flotilla, and Neuse River Day in June. Activities center around the Sheraton docks and Union Point Park, where the Trent flows into the Neuse.
"New Bern's worth the
trip," say Mike and Paddy Brian, who have cruised for 18 years aboard the
50-foot ferro-cement junk they built in South Africa. "The people are very
friendly, and the town is very nice."
Transient boaters share the Sheraton's docks and amenities with some 30 liveaboards, including the Mc-Nultys (she runs a nautical gift shop), and Steven and Kathryn Kent, who own the French bakery. "A lot of people just show up on boats and stay," says McNulty.”
New Bern was founded by Swiss and German settlers in 1710, who named it for the Swiss capital, Bern, meaning "bear" in German. It should come as no surprise that you'll see many sorts of representations of bears around town. New Bernthe capital of the North Carolina colony by the mid-1700s, and later boasted the state's first printing press, newspaper and charter school.
An important shallow-water port, New Bern shipped tar, pitch, turpentine and other raw materials to England, and received rum, molasses, sugar and manufactured goods. A century later,16 lumber mills and the seafood industry helped support the economy.
Though the commercial wharves were filled in and built over in the 1960s, historic homes, churches and other buildings remain. (Brochures for a self-guided walking tour are available at the visitor's center in the Riverfront Convention Center.) Among the most famous is the reconstructed 1770 Tryon Palace, residence of the British Royal Governor and seat of North Carolina government through 1794. The palace, three nearby historic homes and the 1790 Attmore-Oliver House are open to the public. A dozen others are now bed-and-breakfast inns.
For a glimpse into New Bern's varied architecture — Federal, Four-square, Queen Anne, Gothic, Greek Revival, Second Empire, Italianate, Georgian — stroll the shady residential streets. Like Charleston, S.C., New Bern has a colorfully painted Rainbow Row, on Metcalf Street. In many neighborhoods flowers bloom and flags fly from renovated homes. (All renovation plans in the historic district must be approved by the New Bern Historic Preservation Commission.)
Explore the home of Hatteras Yachts, Pepsi Cola and year round cruising
Guides on the 90-minute narrated trolley tours tell tales of George Washington's visit, local personalities and historic sites. All mention the silver communion service given to Christ Episcopal Church in 1752 by England's King George II. The present New England-style brick church was rebuilt on the original 1715 site after an 1870s fire.
The concrete Riverwalk follows a park along the Trent River from Tryon Palace to Union Point Park's picnic areas, playground and boat ramp. An adjoining walking path continues up the Neuse River another half-mile past historic mansions. Many folks jog, stroll or walk their dogs; others just sit on the benches enjoying the water views.
"Most tourists come to New Bern to see Tryon Palace and the Pepsi-Cola birthplace," says Mary Flythe, who dispenses Pepsi and sells memorabilia in the pharmacy where Caleb Bradham invented the soft drink in 1898. "Brad's Drink" has enjoyed phenomenal success as Pepsi-Cola, though Bradham lost the company in 1923.
New Bern's vintage downtown has undergone a renaissance. The New Bern Civic Theater, upscale boutiques, antique stores, craft shops, art galleries and restaurants (no chains) occupy the renovated buildings. Craven Arts Council hosts exhibits in its headquarters, the 1913 Bank of the Arts. Mitchell's Hardware Store dates to 1898.
"Alive After Five" hosts monthly entertainment in downtown parks and on street corners while shops stay open late. But Sunday mornings are quiet, with many businesses closed.
"Downtown has lots of great
restaurants and good live entertainment," says dockmastcr McNulty, who
says the most popular nightclub is the Sheraton's Pro
Sail Pub.
For fine dining, locals recommend The Chelsea (gourmet cuisine in Brad-ham's second pharmacy), Charles Hines Gallery & The Gallery Cafe (creative fare and art gallery owned by artist and former cruiser Charles Hines and his wife, Barbara), and Harvey Mansion (elegant restaurant, charming steamer bar and bed-and-breakfast, in a 1797 four-story ship owner's home and office). Others recommend Captain Ratty's Seafood and Piano Bar (seafood restaurant and piano bar serving hearty fare among signed boat-signal flags and other nautical memorabilia), the Sheraton's Latitude 35, Fred and Clare's, Port City Java, Trent River Coffee Shop, and Pollock Street Deli.
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New Bern wasn't always so peaceful. In 1774 North Carolinians convened
the first elected assembly in America, defying the British Royal Governor.
Pre-Revolutionary War tensions forced him to flee in 1775. In 1862 New
Bern was the first Confederate city captured. Union officers commandeered
Neuse River mansions for the rest of the war, and converted the 1822 Presbyterian
Church and New Bern Academy to hospitals. The academy now contains exhibits
of local history, architecture and early education.
The nearby Firemen's Museum also displays Civil War memorabilia, and docent Ted Prehl tells how the long-established local fire company and Union veterans' upstart company raced their horse-drawn steam pumpers to be first at a fire. Both 19th-century pumpers are on display, as are New Bern's early motorized fire vehicles. However, none could stop the 1922 blaze that leveled 1,000 buildings, and left a quarter of New Bernians homeless, and 1,500 out of work. |
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