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View Ongoing Projects:
300th Anniversary Commemorative Cookbook
African American History & Civil War Program Committee
Bear Town Bears
North Carolina History Education Center
Tower Clock Restoration Project
New Bern Tower Clock Restoration
It’s all about time…
As part of New Bern’s 300th Anniversary, the Eastern North Carolina, Chapter 191, of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors and Tryon Palace Clock Volunteers are pleased to share our story of the New Bern Tower Clock restoration.
The clock works, before being retired and replaced by an electric motor in 1999, served our community from the New Bern City Hall Clock Tower. Over the past three years the clock has been restored to “like new condition” consuming in excess of 1200 hours of volunteer time. The restored 2,800 lb. clock with its massive 8-1/2 pendulum and 325 lb. bob is installed at the new North Carolina History Education Center. It will be the very first thing visitors will see when entering the Mattocks Great Hall. There, the restored clock with two new faces, hands and bell will again count the cadence of life for our community.
Dobert Owsley
Chairman, New Bern Tower Clock Restoration
to view a flash presentation on the history and restoration of the New Bern Tower Clock. Keep checking back, this presentation is updated regularly as the project gets closer to completion.
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North Carolina History
Education Center - Opening 2010
Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens’ mission is to engage present and future generations in the history of North Carolina from early settlement and development of statehood through the mid twentieth century by collecting, interpreting and preserving objects, buildings, landscapes and events that enrich understanding of the making of our state and nation.
With this mission in mind, Tryon Palace Historic Sites and Gardens will open the North Carolina History Education Center during the City of New Bern's 300th anniversary in 2010. The new center will encompass 48,000 square feet on six acres adjacent to the Palace gardens and Trent River. Visitors will find four major history museum galleries, a performance hall, other educational and conference spaces, and a waterfront exhibit and event area. The History Education Center's Great Hall and orientation area will become the new entry and introduction to all of Tryon Palace's historic attractions.
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As a green project, the History Education Center will filter storm water run-off from an approximately 40-acre area of downtown New Bern, feature a cistern to recycle storm water runoff for landscape irrigation, and utilize recycled building materials.
With a $35 million commitment in its 2007 budget, the North Carolina General Assembly has secured the opening of the North Carolina History Education Center. The state’s commitment to the $60.6 million project brings its total to $42.7 million, which has been matched by $1.5 million from the City of New Bern and $1.3 million from Craven County. Other public grants include $1 million from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, $1 million from Golden LEAF Foundation, $147,000 from Save America’s Treasures, and $75,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Board members of Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens have committed $6.4 million. Other significant funding includes $1 million from PepsiCo, $1 million from the Harold H. Bate Foundation; a $1 million endowment from the Robert P. Holding Foundation and First Citizens Bank; $500,000 from the Cannon Foundation; and gifts from individuals ranging from $1 million down. Additional revenues of $2.5 million for the Center will be realized from 2006-2010 Tryon Palace ticket sales. The remaining balance of $6.2 million will be raised over the coming months with major gifts and with a general public campaign beginning in 2008 that will provide appealing gift opportunities for all North Carolinians.
For more information about the History Center and the Making History Capital Campaign, visit www.tryonpalace.org or call the Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens Development Office at 252-514-4956.
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Riverwalk
The City's 300th Anniversary is serving as a catalyst to complete a continuous 1.5-mile Riverwalk for the redevelopment of downtown's waterfront. The Riverwalk, along the Neuse and Trent River, connecting to Lawson Creek Park via a 900-foot pedestrian footbridge and the Maritime History Park on Jack's Island, will link the downtown parks and attractions. Click on the image to the right to view the New Bern River Walk and River History Park Infrastructure Projects PDF (156KB).
Links under construction, or to be completed, are at the end of Queen and Pollock Streets, a parcel of land at the end of Broad Street, the area between the Farmer's Market and the NC History Education Center and two other privately owned properties. The River History Park, Marina and Herbert C. Bonner ferry site will provide an interesting destination/ attraction featuring artifacts that reflect New Bern's maritime history, 14 transient boat slips and a marina in the style of the old Neuse River Lighthouse.
To guide visitors into the greater downtown area, a Wayfinding Sign Committee is working to secure funding for implementation of a comprehensive sign system designed by Mortar&ink, Columbia Maryland. The sign system will pick up where highway signs end working together to create an uninterrupted series of messages to provide directions to, and visibility for, key visitor attractions and destinations.
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Bear Town Bears - making tracks...
Bear Town Bears is an all-volunteer non-profit organization which places fiberglass bears, decorated by local artists, at business and public locations throughout the New Bern, North Carolina, area for public enjoyment. These whimsical bears will be on display throughout the entire 300th anniversary year. For more information or to be a sponsor, visit their website at or contact them at contact@beartownbears.org.
The Bear Town Bears project has received much notoriety in New Bern. Be sure to look at the following press releases:
May 26, 2009
June 10, 2009
August 4, 2009
August 7, 2009
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African American History & Civil War Program Committee
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| J. T. Barber High School |
The African American History and Civil War Program Committee formed to assist the New Bern 300th Anniversary Committee in its planning of a year-long celebration, which will reflect the rich heritage and vital contributions of the city's African American community.
Throughout its 300-year history, African settlers and their descendants, both enslaved and free, helped shape the development, economy and culture of New Bern. The African-American experience is inextricably part of the history of New Bern, the State of North Carolina, and the United States. The ingenuity, labor, and skill of African Americans are interwoven throughout our rich tapestry from early settlement to the present. Visit our website to learn more about events planned throughout 2010.
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300th Anniversary Commemorative Cookbook Project
New Bern Cooks – celebrating 300 years of good food – is a perfect gift!. This limited edition of wonderful recipes collected from New Bern cooks has been designated the official 300th Anniversary commemorative cookbook. Readers will enjoy recipes dating from the eighteenth up to the twenty-first century. Learn how Birch wine, barbequed pig and other delicacies were made in colonial times and then gather some wonderful new ideas on food popular today.
New Bern Cooks can be purchased at Mitchell's Hardware, Carolina Creations, the Tryon Palace Gift Shop and the New Bern Chamber of Commerce.
MERCI Clinic, a free medical and dental clinic for uninsured adults in the region, will benefit from all sales profits.
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We are looking for energetic volunteers to help in the following areas: event planning, direct mailings, and more... read more››
| New Bern History Bowl |
