New Bern, North Carolina

New Bern is a city in Craven County, North Carolina with a population of 29,524 as of the 2010 census. . It is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers. The city is 112 miles (180km) east of Raleigh and 87 miles (140 km) northeast of Wilmington. New Bern is the second oldest town in North Carolina and served as the capital of the North Carolina colonial government and then briefly as the state capital. It is the county seat of Craven County and the principal city of the New Bern Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Originally a Swiss immigrant settlement, the city is named after the capital of Switzerland, Bern and has a similar flag. 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, important people in the history of the Calvinism.

The site of a battle during the American Civil War, it was occupied by Union troops from 1862 to the end of the war. They created the Trent River contraband camp to house the many former slaves who migrated to the Union lines for protection and freedom. 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.

New Bern is commonly known as the birthplace of Pepsi Cola. It is also the setting of the Nicholas Sparks' book, The Notebook. It is listed as one of the best places to retire.isn't all about moving to Florida - TODAY.com.

History
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 under the leadership of Christoph de Graffenried, Franz Louis Michel 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, when it burned down. 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. 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. It reached a population of 3,600 in 1815.

New Bern was the site of the Battle of New Bern early in the American Civil War. The town was captured and occupied by Union forces in 1862. Numerous slaves escaped and went to the Union camps for protection, and the Union Army set up the Trent River contraband camp to house the refugees. 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."

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. These were two of the more than 100 contraband camps established in the South during the war. Many freedmen in the camps worked for pay for the Union Army and contributed to their efforts. 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.

Geography
New Bern is located at °N, °W (35.109070, -77.069111).

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.

Climate
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.

Demographics
As of the 2000 census, there were 23,128 people, 10,006 households, and 6,183 families residing in the city.

The population density was 895.5 people per square mile (345.7/km²). There were 11,094 housing units at an average density of 429.5 per square mile (165.8/km²). The racial composition of the city was: 55.96% White, 40.32% Black or African American, 2.99% Hispanic or Latino American, 0.64% Asian American, 0.32% Native American, 0.04% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 1.44% some other race, and 1.28% two or more races.

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 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 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.

Colleges

 * Craven Community College
 * Craven Early College High School

High schools

 * New Bern High School
 * Craven Early College High School

Middle schools

 * Grover C. Fields Middle School
 * H.J. McDonald Middle School {Principal Karen Wood}
 * 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

Notable people from New Bern

 * Lewis Addison Armistead, Confederate Army brigadier general
 * Richard Dobbs Spaight, signer of the U.S. Constitution
 * George Edmund Badger, politician
 * Graham Arthur Barden, 13 term congressman (1935–1961).
 * Cullen A. Battle, postbellum Mayor of New Bern
 * Samuel J. Battle, first African-American policeman in New York City.
 * Walt Bellamy, NBA Hall of Fame basketball player
 * Caleb Bradham, inventor of Pepsi-Cola.
 * Gertrude Sprague Carraway (1896–1993), Preservationist, historian, and journalist.
 * Mary Bayard Clarke (1827–1886), noted poet & author.
 * Elwood Edwards, voice of AOL's "You've got mail"
 * William Gaston, jurist and U.S. Representative
 * Horace James, stationed in New Bern 1862-1865 as chaplain to Union Army and "Superintendent of Negro Affairs for the North Carolina District", directed contraband camps
 * Bob Mann, NFL, Football player, first African-American to play for the Detroit Lions, and later also the Green Bay Packers.
 * Eliza Jane McKissack (1828–1900), founding head of music (in 1890) of the forerunner to the University of North Texas College of Music
 * Linda McMahon, wife of World Wrestling Entertainment founder Vince McMahon
 * George Koonce, NFL player for the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, Athletic Director of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
 * James E.C. Perry, Justice of the Florida Supreme Court
 * Brian Simmons, NFL player
 * Furnifold Simmons, U.S. Senator
 * Bayard Wootten (1875–1959), ground-breaking female photographer. Designed first Pepsi-Cola logo.
 * Todd In the Shadows, Music Reviewer from Thatguywiththeglasses.com
 * Herbert Fisher, Sr. and Zelmyra Fisher, former world's oldest living married couple
 * Montario Hardesty, NFL running back for the Cleveland Browns
 * Adam Warren, baseball player in the New York Yankees organization
 * Davon Drew, NFL Tight End for the Baltimore Ravens