NEW BERN - STRONG WINDS HAVE NOT STOPPED US!

Trip Day:              38       Latitude:         34°43.07' N                        Locks Today:    0

Miles Today:        0        Longitude:     076°42.34' W                      Locks Total:     6

Total Miles:    1,008       Location:     Morehead City, NC  / Portside Marina      

 

Morehead City will be our home base for a couple of days.  Last night the winds were 25-30 with 40 knot gusts.  The high today was in the 60s and tonight will be in the mid 40s so being at Portside Marina with the comfort of electric heat and safe dockage seems prudent.  We have not let the weather deter our quest for knowledge, however, thanks to a rental car we have been on the go all day!

 Lots of history .  .  . feel free to skip and just look at the photos!

Today we visited New Bern which is surrounded by water, but it is a river town, not a coastal city.  New Bern was settled in 1710 by Baron von Graffenreid and by the mid-1700s was a vital port for the colonies where pitch, tar and turpentine (all important for shipbuilding) were shipped to England.

Tryon Palace was built between 1767 and 1770 for the first Royal Governor, William Tryon .  Architect John Hawks designed the Palace in the Georgian style of symmetry.   In 1774 the First Provincial Congress convened in New Bern, the first assembly in the colonies in defiance of British orders.  New Bern was the first capital of North Carolina and it was in this palace that George Washington danced when he visited the southern states.

Imagine the pampered horses in these stables.

A matching building opposite housed the 

Palace kitchen.

 

The original Palace was destroyed by fire in 1798 with only the stables still standing.  In 1944 Maude Moore Latham led a movement to rebuild the Palace based on the original architectural plans and inventory documentation.  The formal English gardens were amazing!

John Wright Stanly built this house  between 1779 and 1783, although it has been moved from its original site the home is fully intact and original. 

When President  George Washington

visited New Bern in 1791, he stayed in this home for two nights.

Son, Edward Stanly who was born here in 1810,  accepted the post of military governor from President Lincoln in 1862.

 

In 1800 acreage was set aside for Cedar Grove Cemetery  because the Episcopal Church cemetery was completely filled by those who died during the yellow fever epidemic in 1798-99.  The marl perimeter wall and gates enclose one of the best viewings of nineteenth century gravestones and markers.

 

We really enjoyed New Bern .  .  . and by the way, in 1898 Caleb Bradham invented Brad's Drink which later became known as Pepsi Cola.

Another side note - we returned to Floyd's tonight for seafood dishes and we said yes to their special dessert, Bailey's Chocolate Mouse Cake!  Good thing we walked a lot today.