New Bern dates to 1710, and 51 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #10 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of New Bern was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. 51 places in town are on the National Register, among them six historic districts with 890 buildings between them. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1800.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1786.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Bern’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Bern is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #10 of 290 in North Carolina. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Bern’s overall grade.
North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so New Bern’s 288 sits above most of its state (89% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 943 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1710.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about New Bern’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
New Bern’s post office has been open since 1786.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Beech Grove Mobile Home ParkColonial Mobile Home ParkColony EstatesCraven TerraceCypress ShoresDeGraffenried ParkFox Chase Village Mobile Home ParkHaywood FarmsOakdaleOld Town HarborQuail RidgeSouthgateWashington ForksWoodrow
Gone or out of use
Fort ChaselocaleFort DuttonlocaleFort RowanlocaleFort TottenlocaleGood Shepherd HospitalhospitalNew Bern Quarrymine
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside New Bern
BernCedar GroveEvergreenGreenwoodNew Bern MemorialNew Bern National
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
New Bern was settled in October 1710 by the Palatines and Swiss under the leadership of Christoph von Graffenried. The new colonists named their settlement after the Canton of Bern, home of their patron. Von Graffenried had the original plat of the town laid out in the shape of a cross, though later development and additional streets have obscured this pattern within the regular street grid. The British governor's palace (present-day Tryon Palace) served as the capitol of North Carolina from 1770 until the state government relocated to Raleigh in 1792, after a fire had destroyed much of the capitol. This became the first permanent capital city of North Carolina.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Bern. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1901New Bern sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of New Bern.
Every building
New Bern, building by building, 1885–1924
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1710, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. New Bern’s post office opened in 1786, and the census of 1800 counted 2,467 people here.
How does New Bern rank for history?
New Bern is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #10 of 290 in North Carolina. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in New Bern?
51 listings: 42 buildings, among them the John Wright Stanly House (listed 1970, the first), 6 historic districts with 890 contributing buildings, 2 sites, 1 structure, and 1 object. 943 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in New Bern?
9% of New Bern’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1989.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (9), the National Register of Historic Places (52), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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