ZIP Code 28562

New Bern was founded in October 1710 by the Palatines and Swiss under the leadership of Christoph von Graffenried. The new colonists named their settlement after Bern, the Swiss region from which many of the colonists and their patron had emigrated. New Bern is the second-oldest European settled colonial town in North Carolina, after Bath. It served as the capital of North Carolina from 1770 to 1792. After the American Revolution (1775-1783), New Bern became wealthy and quickly developed a rich cultural life. At one time New Bern was called "the Athens of the South," renowned for its Masonic Temple and Athens Theater. It was part of the Triangle Trade in sugar, slaves, and desired goods, reaching a population of 3,600 in 1815. In 1862 during the early stages of the American Civil War, the area was the site of the Battle of New Bern. Nearly 10,000 enslaved blacks escaped during this period and went to the United States. The Union Army set up the Trent River contraband camp at New Bern to house the refugees. It is the birthplace of Pepsi, the first soft drink made in North America, and the first to be sold in the U.S. by a major American company. The city has four historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places; their numerous contributing buildings include residences, stores and churches dating back to the early eighteenth century. It has two "Local Historic Districts", a municipal zoning overlay that affords legal protection to the exteriors of NewBern's historic structures.

History

New Bern is the primary city name, but also Trent Woods are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of New Bern. New Bern was settled in October 1710 by the Palatines and Swiss under the leadership of Christoph von Graffenried. The British governors palace (present-day Tryon Palace) served as the capitol of North Carolina from 1770 until the state government relocated to Raleigh in 1792. There was no printer in North Carolina until 1749, when the North Carolina Assembly commissioned James Davis from Williamsburg, Virginia to act as their official printer. It was part of the Triangle Trade in sugar, slaves, and desired goods. In 1862 during the early stages of the American Civil War, the area was the site of the Battle of New Bern. Federal forces captured and occupied the town until the end of the war in 1865. Nearly 10,000 enslaved blacks escaped during this period in the region and went to the United States Army (Union Army) camps for protection and freedom. By 1877 the city had a majority-black population. The city continued to be a center for freedmen, who created communities independent of white supervision: thriving churches, fraternal associations, and their own businesses. They elected four blacks to US Congress in the late 19th century. The state's passage of a constitutional suffrage amendment in 1900 used to disenfranchise black citizens, they were totally out of the political process, including participation on juries and in local offices. After the passage of federal civil rights legislation, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which provided for enforcement of constitutional rights, New Bern became the largest lumber and one of the largest in all of the South.

Geography

New Bern is located at the confluence of the Trent and Neuse rivers, two tidal waterways, in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. U.S. routes 17 and 70 pass through the city, merging briefly as a four-lane expressway passing south of the city center. The city has a humid subtropical climate typical of the Atlantic coastal plain. Summers are hot and humid, with frequent afternoon thunderstorms that account for much of the higher summer precipitation. Spring and fall are generally mild, with fall foliage occurring from late October to early November. Winters are relatively mild and drier than the remainder of the year, with infrequent snowfall. According to the United States Census Bureau, New Bern has a total area of 29.7 square miles (76.9 km²), of which 28.2square miles (73.1 km²) is land and 1.4square miles ("4.7 km²") is water. New Bern is home to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, which was founded in 1788. The university is located on the banks of the Neuse River, which is a tributary of the River Trent. The town is located in the North Carolina Outer Banks region, which includes the towns of Kinston, Morehead City, Jacksonville, and Jacksonville. The state capital, Raleigh, is 112 miles (180 km) west via US 70, and Washington is 36 miles (58 km) north via US 17.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 31,291 people, 13,757 households, and 8,070 families residing in the city. Gender distribution is 47.5% male and 52.5%. The percentage of residents under the age of 18 was 24.2%. The 2012 racial breakdown includes White alone 16,304 (54%), Black alone 9,634 (31.9%), Asian alone 1,844 (6.1%), Hispanic (5.4%), Two or more races 747 (2.5%), American Indian alone 50 (0.2%) and Other race alone 13 (0.04%). The median income for a household in the City of New Bern in 2015 was $41,285. The population of the area was 30,291 (95% urban, 5% rural) people in 2014, a 31% increase in growth since 2000. 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 NewBern city residents were under 18 years of age. There were 14,471 housing units in New Bern, 88.2% of which were occupied housing units. The city has a population of 31,000 people, with a median resident age of 38.8 years old. The area is 95% urban and 1% rural, with the city's population at 30,000.

Arts and culture

New Bern has several sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. New Bern is home to the National Museum of American History. The New Bern Museum of Art is located in the city's downtown area. The city is also home to a museum of American history, which dates back to the 17th century. The National Gallery of New Bern was built in 1875. It is located on the New Bern River, which runs through the city. It was named after New Bern, New Jersey, where the city was founded in 1776. The museum is on the U.S. National Mall, which is also on the N.N.R.P. list of historic sites. It has been listed as a National Historic Site since 1876.

Education

The University of Mount Olive at New Bern is a public college in New Bern, New Jersey. The University of New Bern has a community college and a private high school in the city. The city also has a number of private schools, including a private Christian school and a Catholic school. The New Bern area is home to many colleges and high schools, as well as many middle schools and elementary schools. New Bern's schools include: Trent Park Elementary School, Brinson Memorial Elementary, Bridgeton Elementary, and West Craven Middle School. The university has a high school, a middle school, and a public high school. It is also home to a private school, the New Bern Christian Academy, which has a private day school and private schools. The state's public high schools are: New Bern High School, Brent Park Elementary and Oaks Road Elementary. The private schools include Calvary Baptist Christian School and St. Paul Catholic School (St. Paul Education Center) and the Epiphany School of Global Studies. The school also has private schools for pre-school, middle and high school students, and private school for high school and college students. The town's private schools have private schools and private academies for high schools and college-age students. They are: Brinson Elementary, Oaks Road Primary, Trent Park Primary, and Trent Park Middle. The public school has two high schools; the private school has one high school; and the school for college students is called New Bern Preparatory School.

Infrastructure

Coastal Carolina Regional Airport is a public airport located 3 miles (5 km) south of the central business district of New Bern. The airport offers connecting flights to the Atlanta and Charlotte airports daily. The New Bern Transport Corporation, a business entity owned by PepsiCo to manage its fleet of delivery trucks and other motor vehicles, is located in White Plains, New York, but was named after the town where Pepsi-Cola was first developed. The north-south U.S. Route 17 and the east-west U.S. Route 70 pass through New Bern, North Carolina. As late as 1950, the Atlantic and East Carolina Railway offered passenger train service through NewBern to Morehead City to the east, by the Atlantic coast and to Goldsboro Union Station, where timed connections could be made with the Southern Railway's trains. Service was terminated by the end of 1951. The North Carolina State Museum is located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The museum is open to the public and has a collection of rare books, maps, and other memorabilia. It is also home to the North Carolina Museum of Art, which was established in 1875. The Museum's collection includes the first-ever North Carolina state map, which shows the location of the state's first state capital. The state's oldest public library, which opened in 1876, is also located in New Bern and dates back to the 17th century. The city's first post office was opened in 1788.

In popular culture

Jules Verne's 1896 novel Face au Drapeau featured New Bern as the place where one of the main characters is committed to an asylum by the U.S. government. Nicholas Sparks set three of his novels (The Notebook, A Bend in the Road, and The Return) in the city. The city was also the setting for the film version of The Great Gatsby, starring Tom Hanks. The film was shot in New Bern and the city was used as the backdrop for the movie's set. The movie was based on the real-life town of New Bern, New Jersey, where the film was set. It was the first time the city had been used as a setting for a major motion picture in the history of American cinema. It is also the only city in the United States that has been used to film The Godfather: Part II, the sequel to the original film of the same name, in which the main character is sent to New Bern to be held in an asylum for the duration of the film. The novel also featured the city as the location of a pivotal moment in the film's plot, when a character is taken into custody by the government. The story was set in the early 1900s, when the city still had a population of less than 1,000 people. It has been the site of several major films, including The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and the Harry Potter and The Lord Of The Rings films, among others.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina = 85. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 81. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 91. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in New Bern = 4.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 21,809 individuals with a median age of 39.8 age the population grows by 22.14% in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,099.59 residents per square mile of area (424.56/km²). There are average 2.17 people per household in the 12,752 households with an average household income of $35,159 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.30% of the available work force and has dropped -1.60% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 26.50%. The number of physicians in New Bern per 100,000 population = 265.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in New Bern = 55.4 inches and the annual snowfall = 2.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 120. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 213. 90 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 34.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 30, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina which are owned by the occupant = 50.29%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 23 years with median home cost = $151,870 and home appreciation of -10.10%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $6.90 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,375 per student. There are 15.2 students for each teacher in the school, 312 students for each Librarian and 387 students for each Counselor. 7.32% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 16.23% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 7.48% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).