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New Bern is a unique town. It is a product of 1700s Swiss heritage, augmented by the fact of escaping intact as a Southern city taken hostage by the North during the Civil War. New Bern’s location on two rivers, its relatively short distance from the coast and the existence of its railroad made it a valuable commodity to the Union Army until the end of the war, thereby preserving New Bern’s architecture and way of life. With Southern gentility intact, this river town maintains its heritage of Colonial, Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival and Victorian architectural styles.

Early in the area’s history, this site on the Neuse and Trent rivers captured the interest of the Tuscarora Indians. It is believed the Indians may have had hunting camps and villages here for thousands of years.

Swiss and German immigrants originally settled New Bern in 1710, naming the settlement after Bern, the Swiss capital. The town was officially founded by Swiss Baron Christoph deGraffenried. As in "old" Bern, New Bern is distinguished by its imposing clock tower above City Hall. The clock was repaired in 2007 in preparation for New Bern's 300th birthday celebration, which will take place in 2010. The city emblem is a black bear going up a golden road, and this symbol appears frequently throughout the city.

New Bern’s history contains chapters written by Native Americans, Swiss, British, Colonials, Yankees and Rebels. With each intrusion, the city moved forward. The resulting microcosm of American history today flourishes along New Bern's tree-lined streets, creating a picturesque town proud of its rich history.

Historic markers point out the houses where the first elected assembly in the colonies met in defiance of the crown in 1774, where a signer of the U.S. Constitution lived, and where George Washington slept — twice. Markers also point out the office of jurist William Gaston, the first chief justice of the state Supreme Court and composer of “The Old North State,” the state song.

The second-oldest city in North Carolina, New Bern is the site of many firsts. The first state printing press was set up and the first book and newspaper were published here. The state's first public school opened here. The first official celebration of George Washington's birthday was held in New Bern, and it was here that the world's first practical torpedo was assembled and detonated. In the 1890s C. D. Bradham, a New Bern pharmacist, invented Brad's Drink, now known as Pepsi-Cola (see our Close-up on Bradham and Pepsi-Cola in our New Bern Restaurants chapter).

Without question, New Bern's centerpiece is Tryon Palace, the lavish Georgian brick mansion named after William Tryon, the British Colonial governor who had it built in 1770. After the Revolutionary War, the palace served as the home of the state capital until 1795. The original palace burned in 1798. The current establishment is a reproduction built in the 1950s from the original plans, which were found in England. It is a sumptuous showplace inside and out.

Downtown New Bern (see our map of New Bern's Historic District) sits on a point of land at the confluence of the Neuse and Trent rivers. Once the heart of the city, the downtown area fell into great disrepair in the early 1970s due to the development of shopping malls and suburban housing outside the business district.

That all changed in 1979 when local government gave Swiss Bear Downtown Revitalization Corp — a nonprofit corporation of civic leaders — the authority and responsibility to bring the downtown area back to life. Today, art galleries, specialty shops, antiques stores, restaurants and other businesses have resurrected downtown and the waterfront, turning it into a bustling hub of activity.

Progressive improvements are continuously underway. Built and dedicated in 1995, James Reed Lane is a lovely downtown mini-park and pedestrian walk-through on Pollock Street across from Christ Church. The pleasant respite amid downtown activity was planned and funded through efforts of Swiss Bear, in honor of the first rector of Christ Church. Private restoration efforts return many of the downtown buildings to their turn-of-the-last-century elegance.

New Bern will begin the celebration of its upcoming 300th birthday with a First Night Celebration on December 31, 2009. The New Bern Board of Aldermen passed a resolution establishing a committee to plan the year-long Tercentenary Celebration that takes place in 2010. (Read more about New Bern's 300th Celebration in our Close-up in the New Bern Attractions chapter.)

The Neuse and Trent rivers converge at downtown's Union Point Park, the city’s major celebration spot for events, such as Neuse River Days and the Fourth of July. The Neuse, with headwaters in the central part of the state, takes a lumbering left turn and widens to 6 miles across, making it the widest river in the United States. The 1954 Alfred Cunningham drawbridge into downtown New  Bern was closed in May 2007 and will remain closed while a new Bascule drawbridge is built. This is part of a $40 million demolition and building project. The new bridge is scheduled for completion by November 2009, in time for the year-long New Bern 300th anniversary celebration. Downtown New Bern is now accessible on U.S. Highway 70 from the Pembroke exit.

New Bern’s proximity to the broad, shallow Pamlico Sound and the Atlantic Ocean helped shape its destiny. The town long thrived on the richness of its waterways and the fertile soil surrounding them. In Colonial times, West Indian and European vessels would dock here to trade merchandise. The river led inland to pitch, tar and tobacco and, of course, to local hospitality. Today, the rivers serve as the focus of the area's recreational activities: water-skiing, sailing and fishing. Hotel-based marinas for modern-day skippers edge toward the Trent River channel from Union Point Park and also front the Neuse. New Bern's rivers are a tremendous source of local pride, and pollution in the past decade stirred tremendous state and local efforts in restoring their health.

New Bern's southeastern boundary is only a few miles from the Croatan National Forest, a 157,000-acre preserve that shelters deer, bear, alligator and the rare Venus flytrap, a carnivorous plant. Canada geese and osprey are common sights along the rivers, as are the resident great blue herons. Given the right weather conditions and saltwater intrusion, the Neuse River has been known to hide 8-foot bull sharks. In November 2004 a 300-pound Mola Mola, perhaps better known as a giant ocean sunfish, was found in the Neuse River five miles from New Bern.

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. New Bern has some glorious gardens. Led by the example of the professionally pampered Tryon Palace gardens, the town's residents have a yen to make things grow. During the spring explosion of dogwoods and azaleas, a ride through many neighborhoods can be breathtaking.

Gardens, both public and private, extend throughout the city and its suburbs. Summertime brings day lilies, dahlias, zinnias, black-eyed Susans and petunias. Home gardens produce tomatoes, herbs, squash, corn and other favorites. In fall it seems everyone goes slightly crazy for chrysanthemums. (See our New Bern Annual Events chapter for information about the fall Mumfest.) Flowering cabbage and pansies brighten the winter.

Besides the downtown historic district, New Bern also has the Ghent, DeGraffenried and Riverside neighborhoods, which carry official historic neighborhood designations. Ghent, across Trent Road from the DeGraffenried neighborhood, was the town's first suburb, and its flowering-tree–planted median on Spencer Avenue was once a trolley bed. The neighborhood displays an eclectic collection of architectural styles. DeGraffenried Park, bounded by Trent and Neuse roads, is well known for its beautiful large lawns and brick Colonial Revival-style houses. Its sidewalks make it a grand place for walking. This neighborhood came into its glory days pre-World War II. Ride down Lucerne Way or Queen Anne’s Lane and look for the wrought-iron gates on many homes.

Riverside, developed at the turn of the twentieth century, runs between the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks and the Neuse River to Jack Smith Creek. The neighborhood has imposing mansions along National Avenue giving way to more modest residences on neighboring streets.

Tucked between New Bern and the Trent River is Trent Woods, one of the wealthiest of North Carolina's incorporated towns. Here is the New Bern Golf and Country Club, the Eastern Carolina Yacht Club and some of the area's priciest real estate. Trent Woods' costly, pine-shaded real estate is, more and more, in similar company within New Bern's housing market. About 5 miles south of town off U.S. Highway 17 is River Bend, which began as a planned development but later incorporated. Like Trent Woods, it has its own country club, golf course, tennis club, marina and waterfront acreage along the Trent River and the canals that lead to it.

Both River Bend and Fairfield Harbour, another planned community about 8 miles east of New Bern on the Neuse River, have attracted retirees primarily from the Northeast. Fairfield Harbour's amenities include a couple of golf courses, two swimming pools, tennis courts, a marina, a restaurant and lounge, horseshoes, and walking and riding paths. Five miles east of downtown New Bern on U.S. 70 E, lies Taberna, a 1,100-acre golfing community with single-family and patio homes as well as townhouses. The site is centered around an 18-hole golf course, designed by Jim Lipe, a head architect for Jack Nicklaus. The clubhouse includes a restaurant and lounge and swimming pool. Just past Taberna is Carolina Colours, a new 2,000-acre development consisting of single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes. Carolina Colours' new pavillion opened in 2007, with a 18-hole golf course, designed by William R. Love, tennis courts, a fitness center and swimming pool. The planned community also has a 25-acre lake, and walking paths and sidewalks are everywhere. New Bern's newest elementary school, Creekside, just opened in this area.

If all this sounds too boringly nice, take heart. There are a few trouble spots. Insiders' brows furrow when they talk about the town's traffic lights and its lack of nightlife.

First, the traffic lights. New Bern has an overabundance of them on U.S. 17, which is called Broad Street downtown and Dr. M. L. King Jr. Boulevard as you head south toward Jacksonville. With the closing of the bridge at the foot of Broad Street, several traffic lights downtown were removed. But if you’re headed south and don’t catch the lights just right, once you hit Dr. M. L. King Jr. Boulevard expect plenty of stops along U.S. 17. And, at the peak hours of 8 AM, noon and 5 PM, you can expect bottlenecks around the road’s intersections with Simmons Street, U.S. 70, McCarthy Boulevard and Glenburnie Road.

Downtown's traffic woes were eased with the opening of the high-rise Neuse River Bridge in late 1999. The bridge spans the Neuse River and goes from Bridgeton on U.S. 17 to James City on U.S. 70. The bridge replaced the John Lawson drawbridge that connected directly to Broad Street and almost always caused major traffic back-ups when opened. The old bridge was dismantled.

As for New Bern's nightlife, there are a few lounges, some live music in restaurants, wine bars and coffee houses and two movie theaters, but those with a hankering for more need to hit town at the right time. New Bern has good professional and amateur acting groups (including the annual Shakespeare festival), several subscription performance seasons, an annual Chamber Music festival and an annual Sunday Jazz Showcase worth the wait.

The town also has wonderful festivals and shows. Mumfest, New Bern Preservation Foundation's Antique Show and Sale, the Spring Homes and Gardens Tour, Ghostwalk and Tryon Palace Christmas Candlelight Tours are among the favorites (see our New Bern Annual Events chapter). Residents also gather for special occasions on the Trent River waterfront — on July Fourth for the fireworks and in early December for the Christmas flotilla. But, otherwise, the town's social life takes place in private homes and social clubs and at various civic and charity functions that are staged on an annual basis.

To really get to know New Bern, you have to get personal. Come visit. Think of the river city as a tantalizing treasure hunt where gems are revealed as you walk its streets. It's there that you will discover the real New Bern. Take time to read the historic markers and talk to the people in their gardens and on their porches. You're likely to find a sailor from California, a cyclist from New Zealand, an urban refugee from New York or a retired shop owner from Honolulu sharing your park bench. Ask them why they chose to live here. New Bernians like to talk about their town.

New Bern is a gentle place, a place where one can truly enjoy the passing scene, where people know how to appreciate a pretty day or the slow journey of the rivers. This is the real treasure of New Bern. Come share with us.