New Bern, NC
Governor Tryon started almost immediately emphasizing the importance of a permanent capital for North Carolina, who up to this point had the assembly simply met wherever the governor wanted and all of the colony’s records had to be carted from place to place (Nelson, 1990). Towns other than New Bern, such as Edenton or Wilmington, had been considered, but because of north-south sectional tension in North Carolina no agreement could be reached. Tryon knew that a centrally located and sectionally “neutral” town must be chosen (Nelson, 1990). He wrote to the Board of Trade on April 1, 1765, only four days after Governor Dobbs death, “I…am determined in my opinion that the public Business…can be carried on no where with such Conveniency and Advantage to far the greatest part of the inhabitants as at Newberne” (Nelson, 1990, p.54). Despite the colony’s prior long struggle over where to locate the capital, the bill passed on December 7 and New Bern became the first permanent capital for the colonies of North Carolina.
Map of Today's Historic District in
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A Video Tour of Today's New Bern
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